


In Every Universe

by punkbean



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: AU, M/M, basically a whole bunch of AUs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-14
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-14 03:33:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5728150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkbean/pseuds/punkbean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a collection of AUs, mostly featuring Magnus and Alec, but with guest appearances from various other characters. Depending on how well they go, some of them might be elaborated upon!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Soulmates

**Author's Note:**

> "In every universe, when you feel most alone, you will not be alone." (My Shadow - Keane).

Alec was going to kill Izzy and Jace.

Well. Maybe murder would be a bit extreme. But he’d be having a stern talk with them and then probably doing his best to ignore them for a week or so. 

He didn’t think he’d ever been so stressed in his life. They’d taken Max to Central Park for the day, but considering it was the height of summer, the entirety of New York City seemed to have had the exact same idea. 

The last time Alec saw his little brother, he’d been walking beside Isabelle, looking as if he was off in his own world (which he most likely was). Then a flock of tourists had come between them, and by the time the last of them had passed, his siblings were nowhere to be seen. 

This wouldn’t usually be cause for concern. While they could be irresponsible, Alec knew that Izzy and Jace would look after Max, but they were not answering their phones. 

The thing was, Alec hadn’t wanted to be separated from them today.

He’d never paid much attention to his timer. His parents, though they said they were soulmates, were clearly not in love, and Alec could think of nothing worse than getting such a special bond with someone only to become complacent enough with it that you end up resenting the one person you’re meant to be with.

Though it was always ticking down, Alec thought of it as an abstract thing, something that would perpetually be in the future. It never seemed like the day would actually come around.

He had happened to glance at his wrist while he was washing his hair a few days ago, though, and couldn’t help but notice that he only had three days left. 

At the time, he’d forcefully rejected it from his mind. He had things to do. But when he’d looked at it this morning, he couldn’t ignore that he had five hours left. Five hours before meeting the person he was destined to be with for the rest of his life. 

Of course, in his panic, he hadn’t told anyone about it. He could stress about it on his own. 

He’d promised himself he wouldn’t look at the stupid timer, but he’d started thinking about it so he automatically glanced down. 

Four minutes and forty seven seconds. 

Honestly, Alec felt ready to collapse. He had been sure he would have at least another half an hour to prepare himself. 

He was just about to start desperately phoning Isabelle and Jace again, but then stuffed his phone back into his pocket. If he was going to meet his soulmate, he was going to do it alone. Not where his siblings could make him look awful or tell embarrassing stories about him. Or if, heaven forbid, his soulmate thought Izzy or Jace was better-looking or more interesting than him. 

(Which, Alec thought to himself, was very true, but his soulmate wouldn’t have to know that until he’d already gotten attached to Alec). 

He took a moment to compose himself. Strangely enough, he felt calm. He was ready to do this. In fact, he felt sort of excited to meet his soulmate. 

He took a breath and started walking, hands in his pockets. 

His mind wandered as he did. Honestly, he wasn’t even entirely sure what he was thinking about. Mostly that it was warmer than he was usually comfortable with. Maybe he shouldn’t have worn black. 

He was broken out of his reverie by a shout. 

“Alec!” 

He looked up. Isabelle was waving at him from across a patch of grass. Jace was next to her, Max sitting on his shoulders and waving at him just as enthusiastically. 

He tried to ignore the pang of annoyance. He was determined not to look at the stupid timer again, but surely it was getting close by now. And after thinking about it, he definitely wanted to be alone. 

He sighed, resigning himself to his fate. 

He walked forward to meet them, but his foot caught on one of those stupid, pointless, ankle-height fences at the edge of the grass. 

His heart practically stopped as he felt himself fall on top of another person. 

“Holy shit. I’m so, so sorry, I was just…” his voice stopped working. 

He pushed himself up on his hands to look at the poor person he’d fallen on, and holy shit. 

The first thing he noticed was cheekbones. Amazing cheekbones. Then his eyes. Honestly, he couldn’t work out if they were brown or green or gold or what. He didn’t care. They were beautiful and his eyeliner would've made even Isabelle jealous. 

When the stranger began to smirk. Alec pushed himself up properly, kneeling beside the man instead of sprawling across him. 

Before he could say anything, the man spoke. 

“Right on time,” he said slightly breathlessly, holding up his left hand. 

Alec was confused for a second before his eyes fell on his wrist. 

00:00:00.

He looked down to his own wrist.

00:00:00. 

“I’m Magnus,” Magnus said when he’d given Alec a few moments to realise that they were in fact soulmates. He stuck out a hand for Alec to shake. 

“Alec,” he replied, only hoping that his voice didn’t sound as strangled to Magnus as it did to him. 

Instead of doing the sensible thing and shaking Magnus’ hand, though, he did what he usually forced himself not to do and followed an impulse. 

He ignored the offered hand and leaned down to kiss his lips. Magnus froze for a moment, but was kissing him back soon enough. 

While they were kissing, Alec came to his senses. He’d really just kissed a guy– no, he’d just kissed his soulmate in the middle of Central Park where everyone could see them and oh god Jace and Izzy were probably still watching him and now they’d know and–

He felt a hand on his cheek. When he'd started panicking he'd tensed up and stopped kissing. When he opened his eyes, Magnus was frowning at him. 

“Are you alright?” Magnus asked quietly. 

Alec thought about it for a moment. “Yeah,” he agreed. “I’m fine.” 

He ignored the sound of Jace’s voice from what sounded like only a few metres away to kiss Magnus again, the rest of the world melting away.


	2. Soulmates Part Two

It felt like forever since Magnus had felt the heat properly. 

He adored New York, it was a great city, but a lot of the time the heat was either the blinding kind of heat that got reflected back at you from the concrete of the sidewalk, or horrible, smoky, polluted city heat that felt like it had just been spat at you from the exhaust of a taxi. 

He wasn’t homesick, as such. Too many bad things had happened at home for him to truly miss it. 

He did miss the familiarity of Indonesia, though. People speaking his language, being eating the food he was used to, and even seeing people who looked like him on TV. None of those things were possible in New York without a lot of searching. 

When he really wanted a taste of home, he knew of a few Indonesian-owned cafés and restaurants, but they were kind of out of the way so he reserved his visits for special occasions or just for when he was feeling particularly crappy. 

Well, he’d moved to New York and he wasn’t planning on returning home anytime soon. There wasn’t anything there for him anymore. Moving hadn’t affected his timer, anyway, so he supposed that he can’t have messed fate up too much. 

As with most things, he tended to feign disinterest about the timer. When people asked, he answered in the vaguest fashion possible. If people saw it and commented on how long he had left to wait, he just agreed with them and moved on. 

Internally, though, he went through phases of freaking out about it and being relaxed about it. Recently, though, he’d been leaning towards the ‘freaking out’ side of things. The damn thing had been running down at an alarming rate (well, no faster than usual, but it seemed to be going faster as it got closer) and he was panicking. 

He was twenty one. He knew he was young and attractive and, if he was honest, he was terrified of meeting his soulmate. 

His parents’ relationship had been less than exemplary, to put it lightly. Though he was usually willing to talk to people about things, and he usually acted blasé even about things that bothered him, his parents were the one thing he wasn’t willing to talk about. 

To cut a long story short, his father had ruined his life. As far as Magnus was concerned, he had killed his mother. Technicality dictated that it was suicide, but Magnus knew that she had done it because of him. 

  
Beyond that, he’d made the rest of Magnus’ childhood miserable up until his ‘unfortunate’ death which had prompted Magnus to move to America. 

Unfortunately, one of the first things people usually said to Magnus when they found out where he was from was that he must miss his family very much

When people asked that, he usually just made a noncommittal sound and changed the subject as quickly as possible.  

He hadn’t had a proper family since he was five years old, and that was why he was terrified. 

His mother had been kind and vibrant and beautiful, and her awful soulmate had changed her so fundamentally that she had taken her own life.

Magnus wasn’t sure if he was more scared of somebody doing the same thing to him, or the possibility of him doing it to somebody else. Both concepts were equally horrifying. 

He had resigned himself to the fact that he needed to meet his soulmate, though, whoever it was. 

He was just doing his eyeliner when his eyes happened to be drawn to his wrist. 

02:13:16.

His hand jerked in surprise. For a moment, he was more annoyed about the fact that he’d messed up his left eye for the fifth time that morning, when he realised what the stupid timer said. 

He was confused for a second. It had always had three columns, but they had ticked down slowly. Years, days and hours. Now, though, the third column was clearly counting the seconds. That meant there were no days left to count. Only hours and minutes. 

Now he was doubting whether or not he should even wear eyeliner. What if his soulmate was weird about men wearing makeup? You know what, never mind, if his soulmate had an issue with men wearing makeup he wasn’t going to love them anyway. 

Now he was simultaneously under more pressure and more determined to get his eyeliner done. It took three more tries to get the left eye as good as the right, but he was definitely pleased with himself. 

He fixed his hair quickly, winking at himself in the mirror a few times to up his confidence. 

After some deliberation, he decided on an outfit. He definitely considered going all out – after all, he wanted to make a good impression – but it was a hot day and he had to dress appropriately. 

He eventually decided on ankle length ripped black jeans and a striped t-shirt just cropped enough to bare a flash of his stomach and hipbones. He checked himself out in the mirror for a moment more, which was a good idea. He looked fantastic. 

He knew it would be busy at Central Park, but it was hot as balls and it would be better to sit on the grass than on some grimy bench somewhere with garbage rotting behind him. 

As predicted, it was unpleasantly busy in the park. And there were far too many children for Magnus’ liking. Eventually, he found a spot that was acceptable. Yes, it was right next to the path, but that just meant the lucky people out for a walk would be more likely to see him. 

He settled on the grass, laying back and using his bag as a pillow. It wasn’t the most comfortable position in the world but it would certainly work. 

He took a last glance at his timer - 00:53:16 - and let out a long breath. He had just under an hour.

* * *

As it turned out, he fell asleep under the sun. Luckily, he hadn’t rolled over or anything so he didn’t have one tanned half and one pale half, but it did mean that he only had three minutes to ready himself.

To be honest, he wasn’t sure what to do. It seemed like such a huge event that there should be some kind of preparation he could do, but beyond making sure that he hadn’t messed up his eyeliner or got sunburn on his stomach or something, there wasn’t much to do. 

Honestly, he started panicking a little bit. 

Where was he supposed to go? It was fate, wasn’t it? Surely he’d have some kind of intuition if there was somewhere he was supposed to go. Or maybe his timer was broken and he wasn’t actually supposed to be meeting anyone. 

He was about to get up and try and look busy when suddenly there was a man on top of him. 

A very attractive man, for that matter. 

While the man started babbling and apologising, Magnus hazarded a glance at his wrist. 00:00:00. 

The man (unfortunately) scrambled off Magnus, getting to his knees beside him, and then proceeded to stare at him. Magnus knew that look and he was quite sure he was being admired. 

He was aiming for suave and charming when he spoke, but he decided that he sounded more like a 12-year-old with their first crush. 

“Right on time,” he told the stranger, showing him his wrist. 

Shit. Maybe he shouldn’t have done that. What if this was just a weird coincidence and his actual soulmate was watching him from somewhere else and thinking what an idiot he was? 

Before he could freak out, the man looked at his own wrist and met Magnus’ eyes with dawning realisation. 

“I’m Magnus,” Magnus told him, extending a hand. 

The man opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before he spoke. “Alec,” he said shortly. 

So maybe he was a man of few words. Magnus could deal with that. As long as he was nice. Looks weren’t an issue, he was clearly an actual angel sent to earth.  

He was so busy thinking about the logistics of him being a real angel that he was caught off-guard when he felt lips against his own. Before Alec could think he wasn’t into it, he put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and kissed him back gently. 

Until he stopped moving.

Magnus pulled back to look at him. He looked like he’d been slapped. 

All of the worst possibilities running through his head, Magnus hesitated before pressing his palm gently to Alec’s cheek. “Are you alright?” he asked gently, hoping to convey as much sincerity with those three words as was possible. 

Though it was just a few seconds, it felt like Alec hesitated for a year before he spoke. “Yeah. I’m fine,” he said, focussing on Magnus again with eyes that he could already tell were going to be the death of him. 

Magnus glanced towards some blonde guy yelling ‘who’s Alec kissing’ but before he could really pay him any attention, Alec was kissing him again and nothing else mattered.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and then alec noticed that magnus was wearing a cropped shirt and flipped out 
> 
> thank you so much for reading! I'll try to update as regularly as possible, and requests are more than welcome.


	3. Photographer/Model AU

He was wet.

Yes, it could have been avoided, but his coat didn’t have a hood and he refused to use an umbrella.

Even so, he was beginning to regret his stubbornness as people kept casting glares his way.

Internships sucked. Yes, they were a good way to get experience, but Alec didn’t really see how making coffee and organising paperwork was giving him experience relevant to becoming a photographer.

Today would hopefully be different, though. He was scheduled to help out with a photo shoot with some foreign model.

To be fair, ‘help out’ could mean anything from setting up equipment to cleaning makeup stains off clothes to, of course, making coffee.  

Whatever he was doing though, Alec knew he couldn’t do it in the state he was in. His hair was dripping and the front of his shirt was soaked where his jacket hadn’t covered it, making it look unfortunately like he’d been sweating profusely.

He’d been trying to tell himself that it wasn’t too bad until he saw himself in the elevator mirror.

As soon as he got to the right floor for the shoot, he dashed into the bathrooms. He tried shoving his hair back from his face, but that made it look like he’d just stepped out of the shower. He tried slicking it back, and he looked like Dracula.

He groaned, ready to give up, when his eyes fell on the hand dryers.

It would be humiliating, but it was better than nothing. He squatted down on the floor beneath the dryers, shifting around until the motion sensor activated and hot air started blasting out.

He moved his head around until his hair felt suitably dry. Once he’d messed around with it in the mirror for a minute, he let out a relieved breath. That was one less thing to worry about.

Now he only had his shirt. Damp jeans he could put up with, but the wet patch on his grey shirt was too conspicuous. He didn’t think he’d be able to dry it enough with the awkward angle of the hand dryer, but he had another idea.

He snuck out of the bathrooms and into the room where the photo shoot was being held. Nobody paid him much attention, too busy with setting up, so he took the opportunity to dash into the small wardrobe that doubled as a dressing room.

It wasn’t exactly luxurious. Alec hoped that the model wasn’t expecting a huge dressing room with champagne or anything.  
Though it wasn’t big, it was exactly what Alec needed. He ignored the railing with the outfits for today’s shoot hanging on it and leaned over instead to the clothes hanging behind it.

Alec flicked through the hangers until he found a blue and white striped shirt that wasn’t too extravagant. He held it up against himself experimentally. It was a little too small for him, but it was stretchy.

Alec wasn’t exactly big, but years of being dragged to the gym with Jace and doing archery in his spare time had taken their toll and he definitely had muscles.

Isabelle had called him “ripped” last year when the family had gone to the beach together but he tried not to think about that.

Forcing his mind away from his ridiculous sister, Alec shrugged his jacket off and hung it on the back of the door. He unbuttoned his shirt to around halfway down his chest before reaching back to grab the collar and pull it over his head.

He didn’t take the wetness into account. The wet material clung to his head, making it difficult to tug the shirt off completely. He felt ridiculous, standing with his torso exposed in a dressing room he shouldn’t even be in, his arms and head trapped in his shirt.

He was so focussed on trying to wriggle out of the damn thing that he didn’t notice the door opening and closing.

“My, my. Isn’t this a nice surprise. Are you some kind of dressing room perk?” a voice asked from what was surely only a few centimetres away from Alec.

Alec jumped out of his skin. He yelped, automatically jerking backwards from whoever it was and bashing his hip off the wooden table in the corner. He ignored the tubes of makeup rolling to the floor and doubled his efforts to tug his shirt off.

“I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t be here, I just had to change,” he babbled.

The voice made made a hushing sound. “Don’t feel the need to apologise,” it said, as smooth as silk.

Alec felt like an idiot but the voice alone was enough to make him blush.

There was a moment of silence. Alec realised that he probably should say something, but before he could, the other man spoke again.

“Let me help you,” he purred. Alec felt fingers brush against his shoulders before hands grabbed the bottom of his shirt and yanked it off the rest of the way with considerable ease.

Now that his head was free of the shirt, he could see his mystery saviour, and holy shit, this was definitely the model.

Hazel eyes dancing with amusement and something Alec couldn’t identify; impossibly sharp cheekbones; hair styled elegantly atop his head; lips-

Before he could think about mystery model man’s lips too much, Alec realised that he was still standing - shirtless - with his arms above his head, staring at the man. He dropped his arms to his sides and opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, unable to think of anything to say to defend himself.

To the model’s credit, he didn’t look at all uneasy. In fact, he seemed remarkably comfortable with this unusual shirtless stranger staring at him.

“I’m Magnus,” he said. He spoke with a subtle accent. Alec could have listened to him talk about cement for hours without getting bored, his combined voice and accent were so alluring.

Alec realised that he had a ready-made reply to this. “Alec. I’m Alec,” he said. Maybe it wasn’t the most suave introduction of all time, but at least he’d said something without stammering too much.

“Alec,” Magnus repeated. “Alexander,” he added. “That’s a nice name.”

Alec usually hated people calling him that. It was only used by his father, or his mother when he was in trouble. But coming from Magnus, it sounded like the most beautiful word in the world.

“I’m…uh. Like I said. I was just changing,” Alec told him. He looked down at the table. He was sure he’d put the shirt there to change into. Before he could start panicking, Magnus leaned in close to him.

Alec was trying his best not to freak out. All he could focus on was the smell of sandalwood and something cinnamony, and the sharp line of Magnus’ jaw. Before he could do anything stupid like grab Magnus’ waist or kiss his jaw or something, the other man had straightened up. His finger was hooked through the label of the shirt Alec had picked earlier, and he was dangling it in front of him.

“Is this what you’re looking for?” Magnus asked. “Because really, you don’t have to get dressed on my behalf. You look fine just the way you are,” he added quickly, smirking.

Alec let out a strangled noise. He took the shirt from Magnus and tugged it over his head, managing not to get it stuck this time. Magnus was looking at him as if he wanted to take the shirt straight back off him.

“This is really tight,” was all Alec could think to say.

Magnus let out a laugh. Alec thought that it was one of the best things he had ever heard.

“I wouldn’t complain, handsome,” Magnus purred. “It suits you. Brings out your eyes.”

Alec’s brain was stuck on the fact that Magnus had just called him handsome.

“I–you’re beautiful,” he blurted out. As soon as he realised what he’d said, he smacked a hand over his mouth. “Sorry. I just wanted to…repay…you called me handsome?”

Magnus’ smile just grew. “You need to learn to stop apologising, Alexander,” he murmured as he leaned closer. “I like you. Do you work here?”

Alec shook his head. “I’m an intern. I’m supposed to be helping out with the shoot today. Are you…are you the model?” he asked.

Magnus nodded wordlessly. He was looking at Alec as if he wasn’t an intern who couldn’t seem to string more than five words together at a time. Like he was interesting.

“I’ll probably be making you coffee in a few minutes,” Alec sighed. He hadn’t intended to say that out loud, but he supposed that that wasn’t the worst thing he’d accidentally said to Magnus.

Magnus narrowed his eyes, reaching out to press his hand against Alec’s cheek for a moment.

Alec suppressed the urge to scream.

“I won’t let that happen. It would be a crime to have someone like you on coffee duty,” he said firmly.

“What?” Alec asked. He’d never wished quite this hard for Jace’s way with words or Isabelle’s flirtiness.

“You can help me out instead. For today your only job is to provide me with company. If you’d like to, of course,” Magnus offered. He looked uncharacteristically nervous.

Alec nodded quickly, words failing him. “I–yes. I’d like that.”

Magnus’ face lit up in a grin. “Perfect! Now first of all, I’d like you to do me a favour.”

“What?” Alec asked for what felt like the thousandth time that day.

“Help me change!” Magnus crowed delightedly.

* * *

Ragnor, Magnus’ manager, needed to try and get the young man to the makeup artists. He was supposed to have been there five minutes ago but he was taking a long time in the dressing room.

He was about to knock when he heard voices from inside: one flustered voice he didn’t recognise, and one very recognisable Magnus, laughing delightedly.

Ragnor sighed heavily. He raised his hand again to knock when he heard the unmistakeable sound of two people kissing.

He wasn’t paid enough.

“You have five more minutes,” he yelled through the door.

He ignored Magnus’ muffled yell of ‘we're busy’ and set off to the food table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poor ragnor. he's doing his best.
> 
> this whole series is basically 'magnus and alec meet, alec is flustered, magnus tries to be suave but screams internally at this clumsy and attractive fool'
> 
> thank you for reading, and for the kudos! please feel free to leave any suggestions or requests in the comments!


	4. Student/Teacher (sort of)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Laura! Thank you for commenting and thank you for the request, I hope this is somewhere along the lines of what you wanted!

If Magnus had to use one word to sum up his current mood, he wouldn’t even have to hesitate.

Bored.

The room was at the perfect temperature to fall asleep, and people were talking just quietly enough that it provided a nice ambient noise.

He felt like he didn’t have the right to complain about college. He’d worked hard to get there, and he enjoyed most of his classes, but honestly, some of the things he had to take just to make up the credits were mind-numbing.

Like the fact that he had to take Art History. It could be worse, but he was studying fashion (contemporary fashion, not fashion history or whatever), and although paintings were interesting it felt like he could have been spending his time way more valuably.

Not to mention that their lecturer was completely mind-numbingly boring. She was a nice lady but she spoke in a monotone, and that combined with the heat and not-so-compelling lectures provided a nice environment for a nap.

(But Magnus tried not to nap. The lecturer was nice, after all, and he liked to sit near the front and try to look attentive to keep her spirits up).  

He settled down in his usual seat: three rows back, three seats in from the left. He opened his notebook and lay his pen down in the middle of it to try and give off the impression that he might write something down at some point.  

He was already starting to drift off. People were still filing into the room and his head was lolling. That was, until someone slid into the seat beside him and pinched his thigh.

Magnus jolted upright, but immediately relaxed when he saw that it was Catarina. She was his oldest friend and without her in this class he would most likely fail.

“Professor Malone isn’t coming in today,” she said without preamble.

That perked Magnus up. “She’s not? Does that mean class is cancelled?” he asked, already moving to close his book.

Catarina shook her head and rolled her eyes fondly. “No. Ragnor went back to bed when I told him that, I’m not losing you as well,” she said. “Someone else is taking the class. I don’t know who. You need to start checking your emails.”

“I have more important things to check,” Magnus said, waving a hand and pulling his phone out. He opened the Neko Atsume app to check on his cats just to prove a point.

He pointedly ignored her muttering something about how ridiculous he could be.

While they waited for their substitute lecturer to arrive, Magnus tried to engage Catarina in a game of ‘guess what I’m drawing’, but it didn’t go particularly well as when he wasn’t drawing clothes, his drawings were disastrous.

“Is it a horse?” Catarina asked, frowning and turning Magnus’ book to try and get a better look.

“It’s a penguin!” Magnus protested, spinning the book around so it wasn’t upside down.

Catarina just frowned at him, but whatever she said next was completely lost on Magnus.

There was someone at the lecturer’s desk. He certainly wasn’t a student; Magnus would have remembered a face like that.

“Who’s he?” Magnus hissed, nudging Catarina and nodding towards the desk.

She looked up and shrugged. “Why would I know? He must be the substitute or something.”

“He’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my life,” Magnus said.

Catarina rolled her eyes again.

He was younger than most lecturers. Magnus would have said that he was thirty at the very most. He was tall, with black hair and blue eyes. And he looked like he was actually thinking about what he was going to say in the lecture instead of just reading off a piece of paper.

* * *

 Magnus was exactly right. The man - Alec Lightwood, as he introduced himself - was interesting and engaging, and even though some people in the class asked the most awkward questions they could think of just to test the poor man, he answered them easily.

At the end of the lecture, most of the class just left as usual. Magnus didn’t want to, though. But would it be weird to go and talk to the lecturer? Maybe he was just a young-looking and extremely attractive 40-year-old who was married with three kids.

After some prodding from Catarina, and the realisation that the lecture hall was empty, Magnus stood and wandered over to the desk. He leaned against it, doing his most winning smile.

Alec looked up after a moment, returning Magnus’ smile. “Can I help you?” he asked, sliding his papers into his bag. Magnus didn’t know if he was imagining it, but he thought Alec’s cheeks looked slightly pink.

“I enjoyed the lecture,” Magnus said, running his fingertips up and down the strap of his bag. “Will you be teaching us regularly?”

Alec laughed softly and shook his head. “No. I’m only here because Professor Malone isn’t,” he explained.

This dampened Magnus’ spirits considerably. “Oh. So she’ll be back next week?” he asked.

Alec nodded and gave Magnus an apologetic look. “Afraid so.”

Magnus raised an eyebrow. “You don’t like her?” he asked. It was usually easy to tell when lecturers hated each other, but they weren’t often so blunt about it.  
Alec shook his head. “No! I mean yes. I mean I like her. She’s a nice lady but her classes were never particularly…engaging,” he explained, picking up his bag and nodding towards the door.

Magnus walked with him. “She taught you?” he asked. “How long has she even been teaching here? Not that you look old. Quite the opposite, in fact.”

Alec bit his lip to try and hide a smile. He didn’t do a good job of hiding it, but he did a great job of drawing Magnus’ attention to his lips.

“She taught me. But she hasn’t been teaching here long. I only graduated this year,” Alec explained.

Magnus perked up at this. “Oh! So that makes you twenty two? Twenty three?”

Alec nodded. “Twenty three. Only just.”

Magnus nodded. This was definitely interesting. “And you’re not really a lecturer. You were just filling in for Malone.”

Alec nodded.

“So you don’t work here?” Magnus asked.

Alec looked confused. “No.”

Magnus smirked at him. “So it wouldn’t be illegal if I asked you out on a date?” he asked.

Alec stopped short in the middle of the corridor. “I– no, you don’t–”

Magnus turned around once he realised Alec had stopped walking. “If you don’t want to, it’s fine. If you’re straight or married or whatever,” Magnus said quickly. Sometimes he wished he thought about the things he said before they were out of his mouth.

“No! No. That’s not what I meant,” Alec protested.

His face had gone very red in a very short space of time. Magnus hoped he wouldn’t faint or anything.

“What I meant,” Alec began, “is that it wouldn’t be illegal. And I’d like that. But you never told me your name.”

Magnus was beaming. “Where are my manners?” he teased. “Magnus Bane. It’s a pleasure.”

Alec shook the hand Magnus offered him.

“Are you doing anything now?” Alec asked, squeezing Magnus’ fingers gently before letting go of his hand.

Magnus shook his head.

“Would you like to go for coffee?” Alec offered, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

Magnus grinned and moved to loop his arm through Alec’s. “I’d love to.”

* * *

 On their way out, he ignored Catarina, who was trying to catch his attention from a bench and who also proceeded to text him a thousand times during their date asking what he was doing with their lecturer and did he want to get the guy arrested.

Explanations could wait. For now they had a cookie to share and Alec was shooting his coffee amused looks (“it’s not a coffee, Magnus, it’s more sugar than coffee” was what he’d said when Magnus ordered).

He wasn’t complaining about the taste when he kissed Magnus at the end of the date, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for all the kudos, I can't believe how many there have been in such a short time! thank you for reading, and again, feel free to request anything!


	5. Blind Date

Alec sometimes stared at himself in the mirror.

He had always had a complicated relationship with his appearance. 

On one hand, he didn’t think he was ugly. 

He didn’t like to think about it too much, but he exercised regularly and had a nice body, and he supposed his face wasn’t too terrible.  

On the other hand, he didn’t think he was anything special.  He wasn’t bad-looking, but he wasn’t incredibly attractive, either. Not the kind of person people turned around to get a second look at. 

Not that he wanted that, mind you. Attention made him kind of uncomfortable and he was far more comfortable one of his sweaters and jeans than in the ridiculous clothes his siblings tried to make him buy on the rare occasion that he let them take him shopping. 

Even if he was wearing fancy clothes, Alec didn’t think he was anything special. 

And if people approached him, they usually lost interest pretty quickly once they either saw Izzy and Jace or realised that he wasn’t particularly interesting. 

(Or a girl had happened to approach him and he quickly let her know that he wasn’t interested). 

Isabelle often questioned him about what kind of man he found attractive, but t his was never a productive conversation. 

Alec mostly ignored her questions, but he always answered at least one of them whenever she got to interrogating him.

He usually avoided the more physical questions, focussing instead on the ones to do with personality. 

These short and limited answers were still too much, though. 

Alec was in his bedroom, trying to finish an essay for college, when Isabelle burst into the room. 

“I’m busy,” he said shortly. He knew it was rude, but it was the only way to get rid of her. And he really did need to finish the essay. 

Isabelle reached over to push his laptop closed on his hands. “I need to talk to you.”

Alec was going to tell her off for shutting his hands in the laptop, but she sounded serious. He extracted his hands and shut the computer fully. “What is it?” he asked, already slightly concerned. Yes, she was a pain in the ass sometimes, but she was still his little sister and he’d do anything for her. 

“I’ve set you up on a blind date,” she said. 

Alec was tempted to shove her off the bed, protectiveness be damned. 

“A blind date?” he repeated. 

Izzy nodded excitedly. “I made a list of qualities you like and narrowed it down, and he was a good match,” she explained. “He has dark hair, nice eyes, he’s funny and he’s a nice person. I think. I don’t know him that well, but he seems nice.”

Alec groaned. “Isabelle. I don’t need a boyfriend, okay? I’m fine being single. Is your friend even interested in men?” 

“Yes! I asked him. He’s bisexual,” she said. 

“You asked him? What, did you just go up to this guy you barely know and ask if he was gay?” Alec asked.

Izzy frowned at him. “Yes?”

Alec massaged his temples. 

“Please go with him, Alec,” she whined, shuffling over to sit beside him and wrap her arms around him.

Alec did his best to ignore her, but she started squeezing him uncomfortably tightly. 

“When is this date?” he asked, trying to push her away. 

She didn’t let go of him. “Tomorrow afternoon.”

“You thought you’d tell me the day before the date?” Alec twisted until he could see her face. “What if I have plans?” 

“No offence, Alec, but you don’t have plans. I have class and Jace always goes running at that time,” Izzy said, reaching up to try and smooth his hair down.

Alec didn’t bother trying to swat her away. “I have other friends,” he grumbled. 

“Do you have plans?” she asked.

Alec considered lying, but he just sighed and shook his head. “No. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have other friends.”

Izzy beamed. “I never said it did. But will you please go to that little coffee shop near the river at three?”

He could refuse. He could do something for himself for once and refuse, say he had things to do. But he could also do something for himself for once and say yes. 

“Fine. I’ll go,” Alec muttered. 

He just hoped that the guy wouldn’t see him and run away. Or not turn up at all.

* * *

 

Alec hated being late. He refused to actually run, he didn’t want to turn up to a date with a bright red face and unable to catch his breath, but he was walking as fast as he could without actually breaking into a jog. 

When the cafe’s little round sign came into view, Alec slowed down. He tried to let his breathing even out, but his nerves weren’t making it easy. 

He pulled his phone out to glance at the time. 3:05. Only five minutes late wasn’t so bad, right? The guy wouldn’t have got up and left in five minutes. 

Oh god, what if he thought he’d been stood up and left upset? What if he thought Alec was a dick? Not that he really knew who Alec was, but it could potentially make Isabelle look bad.

Alec stepped inside, Isabelle’s instructions running through his head.  _ ‘He’s tall and very attractive, and he’s very fashionable, and he wears makeup most days.’ _

This description terrified Alec just a little bit. Apart from the ‘tall’ part, this didn’t sound like Alec at all. He had no idea when it came to fashion, he just wore black things with other black things, occasionally mixing in something blue because variety is the spice of life and all that. 

And makeup? Alec always tried not to make assumptions but that probably meant that he was confident and what was Izzy  _ thinking  _ and maybe he should just leave the coffee shop now and tell Izzy to apologise to the guy.

* * *

 

Magnus wasn’t entirely sure why he’d agreed to go on a date with an acquaintance’s brother. Yes, Isabelle was friendly and they had done well on the one project they’d been in a group together for, but beyond that, he didn’t know her at all.

The warning bells had been set off when she had sat next to him one day and asked, without warning, “are you interested in men?” 

Magnus was too flabbergasted to do anything but nod and tell her he was bisexual.

Isabelle had immediately proposed a blind date. With her brother. In some independent hipster cafe. 

It would have been easy to say no. Tell her that he had a boyfriend or a girlfriend, or that he had a bonsai class or a pole dancing class to attend (the pole dancing would be more believable, really), but he found himself agreeing to it. 

He wouldn’t really care if it didn’t work out, but hey, if it did work out he’d have a new boyfriend who was supposedly very attractive so that could be fun. 

For once in his life, he had arrived early to something. He ordered a coffee - nothing as extravagant as what he might have bought in Starbucks, but it still looked good - and went to sit at a “visible” table as Isabelle had instructed him. 

The only description she had given of her brother was ‘tall and attractive’. 

Maybe she had set Magnus up with his long lost identical twin. 

Trying not to laugh at his own jokes, Magnus pulled his phone out. Catarina, his closest friend, had asked him to keep her updated  _ (but for god’s sake, Magnus, don’t spend the whole date texting me, you can tell me what happened when you get home)  _ and he planned to do just that until he arrived. 

If he arrived.

Whenever the bell above the door jingled, Magnus looked up. So far he had been disappointed by a businessman, an old couple, a couple of adolescents and a child who kept pushing the door open and closed for a while. 

Magnus was tempted to go and throw the child in the river until its mother finally exercised some control over it. 

He looked back down to his book when the bell jingled again. He jerked his head up, ready to go and drop kick the kid into the Hudson, but he was pleasantly surprised. 

He definitely ticked the tall and handsome boxes. In fact, Magnus made a decision. Even if this wasn’t Isabelle’s brother, he would make excuses for himself and try to start a conversation with this man instead. 

He could see something of a resemblance between this man and Isabelle, though. There were undeniable similarities in their faces.

Magnus couldn’t remember what colour Isabelle’s eyes were, they could have been either brown or grey, but he knew for certain that they weren’t the same as this boy’s. 

The fact that he could tell that he had blue eyes from such a distance was almost impressive. Magnus checked his reflection in the screen of his phone before settling down to look busy, deciding to go with the ‘act natural’ approach and see what the man did. 

(And if he was getting coffee to go, he would run after him as fast as he could because he would  _ not  _ let someone that beautiful get away from him).

* * *

 

Alec let himself into the cafe before he could talk himself out of it. The bitter smell of the coffee beans and the hum of people’s conversations interspersed with the loud hissing of the coffee machine was enough for Alec to calm down. Slightly. 

He waited at the counter for someone to take his order. When he’d paid, and was waiting for his coffee, he turned around to scan the tables. 

He doubted that his date was hidden in the group of teenage girls in the corner, or with the group of middle-aged women and an angry-looking toddler who were sitting near the door.

And then his gaze fell on the man sitting a short distance from them.

He fit Izzy’s description a little  _ too  _ well. 

He was definitely fashionable. Alec was no expert, but he looked like he’d just stepped out of one of those glossy magazines that Isabelle sometimes read.

Alec was almost certain he was wearing makeup, too. He had to squint slightly to see clearly, but he was fairly sure he was wearing eyeliner.

And holy crap was he attractive. 

Alec had never really been able to conjure up an image of his ‘dream man’ as some people seemed to be able to do, but now he was confronted with the real thing and maybe he’d actually fallen down some stairs on the way here and he was in heaven and this was an angel or maybe he was actually god? 

Before he could get too far into that thought, the barista slid his coffee over to him. Alec took a deep breath. He could either sit at a different table and see if the other guy came to talk to him, or he could start the conversation himself. 

Alec took another breath to steel himself and started walking. This was an opportunity he wasn’t likely to get again. He trusted Izzy, and she’d already managed to set him up on a date with probably the most attractive man in the world, so maybe she was right about him being nice, too. 

(Even if he was a total douchebag Alec probably would have gone home with him). 

When he got close to the man’s table, he looked up from his phone, and Alec really thought he was going to fall over. He stopped beside his table.

The man was still looking up at him, and even his  _ nose  _ was gorgeous and Alec realised that he needed to say something.

“Are you meeting someone here?” he asked. “Because…I think I’m that person.”

_ Oh god, he sounded lame. _

“You’re Isabelle’s brother?” the man asked, sliding his phone into his pocket. His lips had tugged up into a smile and Alec thought he was going to melt into a puddle. 

“Yeah. Hi. I’m Alec. Alec Lightwood. But you already knew that because you know Isabelle,” Alec said, feeling slightly stupid. 

The man stood up and leaned in to kiss Alec’s cheek. “Magnus Bane. It’s a pleasure, Alec Lightwood.”

The combination of the kiss and Magnus saying his name like that and the way Magnus was smiling completely wiped Alec’s brain. 

He forgot to keep holding onto the mug and dropped his coffee. 

The mug smashed on the floor. 

There was silence for a moment after the crash before people’s conversations picked up again. 

Alec could feel himself going red. 

_ Why couldn’t he seem to act like a normal human being in front of Magnus? _

He looked up from the mug shards and coffee pool on the floor. Magnus had a hand over his mouth and his shoulders kept twitching. 

“Oh god, are you okay? Did I get coffee on you? Did you get cut?” Alec asked frantically, reaching out to hover his hands on either side of Magnus. He didn’t want to have spilled burning liquid on him and then been the weirdo who grabbed him by the waist in the middle of a cafe. 

Magnus took his hand away from his mouth and Alec realised he was grinning. Magnus tried to say something but dissolved into laughter, leaning forward to press his forehead against Alec’s shoulder as he laughed. 

Alec felt like he should be mortified. He had been set up with this beautiful man and he’d only embarrassed himself, but before long, he found himself laughing too, holding onto Magnus’ shoulder to keep himself from falling.

* * *

 

Alec was surprised about how well he got along with Magnus. 

They were polar opposites in a lot of ways, but they also had a lot of common interests and Alec found himself having more fun than he’d had in a long time. 

Love and dating and talking to attractive people had seemed like something fictional for a long time to Alec.  Isabelle and Jace did it all the time, but Alec had never been able to find anyone he was attracted to but also got along with. 

But now he found himself by the Hudson, holding hands with Magnus Bane who was beautiful and flirty and funny and Alec would definitely have to thank Isabelle later.

(But she wouldn’t have to know that he stayed at Magnus’ apartment that night).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's nearly 4am and I GOT CARRIED AWAY OKAY I LIKED THIS PROMPT
> 
> This is for blueflowerchild who requested the one-line prompt: "Are you meeting someone here? Because... I think I'm that person."
> 
> I couldn't decide which direction to take this in, but the good ol' blind date won! Because who doesn't love smitten boys without a care in the world? 
> 
> Thank you for reading, and please feel free to request anything you like and I'll try my best to fulfil your wishes! <3


	6. Porn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for ingrates!

Magnus was not ashamed to say that he enjoyed his job. 

Yes, there was the occasional creep, or people who asked him to do things that were completely unreasonable, but porn was porn. That was to be expected.

And Magnus was endlessly grateful to his manager-agent-friend, Catarina, for looking after him and making sure he didn’t get himself into anything he’d regret. 

Catarina regularly told him that he was ‘shameless’. Magnus took it as a compliment. He was paid to have sex on camera, of course he was shameless. 

She tried to tell him that he was  _ too  _ shameless, though. No matter how much Magnus argued that there was no such thing in his line of work, she insisted that he needed to be discerning and choose good projects instead of just agreeing to do things because the girl is hot or the guy has nice arms. 

This had grated on Magnus for a while until he snapped. He told Catarina to handle his casting for a whole month and see where that led. 

As it turned out, she had been right, and the roles she picked out had made Magnus more famous. 

Not that Magnus would ever admit that to her face. She already knew if her smug little smirks whenever people complimented him on the roles she’d picked out for him were anything to go by. 

Even so. They now tended to split things equally between them. Catarina would choose half of his projects, and Magnus would choose half for himself, and they’d see how many of their choices matched up and how many each of them might have overlooked. 

Magnus was scrolling through the latest emailed list of roles when he thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head. 

Alec Lightwood. 

He hadn’t been working long, but he was  _ good.  _ Very good. 

And he was just Magnus’ type. Not that Magnus would ever be unprofessional enough to mention that to anyone. 

Except maybe Catarina. At least once a day. 

He sent her an email (mostly in capital letters) about it and she replied saying that yes he should do the job and, more importantly, he should calm down and try to act professional when they met. 

Luckily, Magnus had a whole week to compose himself. 

As much as he wanted to just laze around eating crap, he made himself do at least a little bit of exercise every day and he tried to cook decent things for himself. 

Before he knew it, what he had been calling ‘The Day’ in his head rolled around. The first thought in his head when he woke up was  _ ‘I’m having sex with Alec Lightwood today’.  _

(Well. Technically, his very first thought was ‘stop trying to smother me you fucking cat, I’ll feed you soon’, but that didn’t count). 

He knew there were showers where they were shooting, but he preferred to do everything at home. He washed and conditioned his hair, made sure his skin was smooth, and made sure everything -  _ everything -  _ was cleaned thoroughly.

Maybe he put a bit of extra effort in since it was Alec Lightwood. Nobody would have to know. Except maybe Alec. With any luck he would notice, anyway. 

He put a pair of earbuds in and made his way through the city. Mixed with the usual pre-performance nerves was a different kind of anxiety. He didn’t like to admit these kinds of things, even to himself, but he sort of had a crush on Alec Lightwood, and he was terrified that he’d turn out to be a douchebag. 

Magnus supposed he’d just have to wait and see. The first test was whether he’d show up on time or not. 

Magnus arrived only a couple of minutes after the specified time, but before he could go inside, someone grabbed his arm.    
He yelped, nearly jumping out of his skin, but when he turned around it was just Catarina. “Behave yourself today, Magnus Bane,” she told him sternly, but she was wearing a fond smile. 

“Don’t I always behave myself?” Magnus asked her, smiling innocently. 

She rolled her eyes at him. “No. You’re a sweetheart and I love you but you very rarely behave yourself.”

Magnus smiled proudly. “Thank you. Is Alec here yet?” 

“He got here a few minutes ago,” she said. Magnus’ face lit up. “I knew you’d be happy about that. You and your timekeeping.” 

“It’s rude to be late. Keeps everyone waiting,” Magnus said, letting her lead him inside. 

The room was filled with the usual pre-shoot hustle and bustle. People running around with camera equipment, testing sound and light levels, and trying to find various props. 

The familiar butterflies were still flapping around in Magnus’ stomach, but now it was more excitement than anything else. 

Catarina herded him over to the makeup tables, where he sat down and was immediately descended upon by a makeup artist. 

He followed her simple orders to ‘close your eyes, look up, pout’ and let her work. After she’d spritzed his face with setting spray, he opened his eyes. He admired himself in the mirror for a moment before he noticed a figure behind him. 

He turned around to see Alec Lightwood waiting for makeup to be available.    
Quashing his inner embarrassing superfan, he thanked the makeup artist before standing up and smiling at Alec. “Hello. I’m Magnus,” he said, extending a hand towards him. 

Of course Alec had already known his name, but it always felt rude to just assume. 

“Alec,” Alec replied, shaking Magnus’ hand. He had a strong handshake. “It’s nice to finally meet you.” 

Magnus forced himself not to get excited at the word ‘finally’. “Same to you. I’ve heard nothing but good things about you,” he said, stepping around the chair and bumping his shoulder against Alec’s. “I’ll let you get on. My agent will castrate me if I sit here talking to you for ages.” 

Alec laughed as he sat down. “That would be a shame,” he teased. “Then you might have to look for a new job.” 

Magnus laughed and squeezed Alec’s shoulder before heading off to the wardrobe department. 

Alec was nice. Alec was funny. Alec was a million times more attractive in person than he was on camera and, oh god, Magnus didn’t know how he was going to handle this. 

He changed into the clothes that had been laid out for him - they were pretty standard, a shirt, tie and tight pants - before there was a knock on the door.    
Assuming it would be a crew member, he went to open it, but instead it was Alec. 

What a sweetheart. They would be having sex in less than an hour (Magnus had to force himself not to scream out loud at this thought) yet he still knocked so he didn’t walk in on Magnus getting changed. 

“You look nice,” Alec told him.

Magnus beamed at him. “Thank you. You too,” he said, leaning against the doorframe and jutting his hip out.

Of course he wasn’t thinking about flirting with Alec. He’d never do such a thing. 

It was just a coincidence that Alec’s eyes drifted down to his ass before he looked back up to his face. 

“Thank you. Did you read the script?” Alec asked, stepping closer to Magnus who nodded and tried to bite back a smile. 

“Yeah. Do you think you'll be able to keep a straight face?” he asked. 

Alec laughed and reached up to push Magnus’ shoulder playfully. “If you make me laugh when we’re trying to film this…” he said, raising his eyebrows. 

There was something undeniably sexual in his tone. 

“What will you do?” Magnus asked with a smirk. 

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” Alec told him, reaching up to squeeze his shoulder before Magnus was called outside.

“Can’t wait,” Magnus breathed into Alec’s ear on his way out. 

When Magnus glanced over his shoulder, Alec’s cheeks looked slightly red even beneath the makeup.

* * *

 

The director walked him over to where they’d be shooting: a set made to look like a fancy hotel room. 

The director talked him through a few things before leaving Magnus to ‘get settled’ in the set while he talked to Alec. Magnus sat on the sofa, trying his best to clear his head before the shoot happened. 

By the time Alec came to sit beside him, Magnus felt relatively calm about the whole thing. Alec had changed into a shirt and trousers, too, and he looked too handsome for his own good. 

“You’d better not laugh,” Magnus murmured, winking at him and bumping their shoulders together.

Before they knew it the director had called ‘action’ and they had to get started. 

They had a couple of lines each to say first. They managed to get through these with no trouble, and though his character wasn’t exactly developed, Magnus let himself fall into a different persona. 

No longer was he Magnus Bane: porn star. He was a businessman who had accidentally booked a hotel room with a double bed and would have to share with his extremely attractive colleague.

And then it was time for them to ‘change into pyjamas’. Magnus was very grateful that his role called for him to admire Alec’s body. If not, he would have had to be subtle and he didn’t know if he would have been able to do that.

Magnus tuned the cameras out and slid his eyes up and down Alec’s body. “Do you work out, sir?” 

Alec looked impassive. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything.” 

“I was just curious. Sir,” Magnus said, winking and letting his shirt drop from his shoulders. 

Alec watched him closely. “Yes,” he said shortly, moving to hang the shirt up.

Magnus hurriedly wriggled out of his own pants and draped himself across the end of the bed. 

Alec turned around and his eyes widened just a fraction. “What are you doing?” he asked tightly.

Magnus thought he could easily have gone into non-porn acting; he was good. “I’m just making myself comfortable,” he told him, maintaining eye contact with Alec as he dragged a hand up his thigh. 

Alec’s eyes followed the movement. “Do you really think this is appropriate?” 

Magnus rolled onto his back and let his eyes fall shut, his hand running lightly across his crotch. “I won’t tell if you don’t,” he purred, opening his eyes to look at Alec. 

Alec took a step towards the bed. 

And then they were kissing. Hard. 

Sometimes, one of the hardest things about being in porn was trying to be aroused if you weren’t really in the mood, but if Alec kept this up, Magnus would have no trouble whatsoever.

They ended up laying across the bed, Magnus in his underwear and Alec shirtless with his pants around mid-thigh so they could grind against each other without zippers getting in the way. 

As Magnus had predicted, getting hard was not a problem at all. And it didn’t seem to be an issue for Alec, either. At least they wouldn’t have to stop the scene to go and get hard elsewhere. 

Magnus had let himself get distracted. He usually kept a good handle on himself, thinking about how long they were taking, but he had no idea how long they’d been grinding against each other. 

At least Alec was the one who was meant to be taking control. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Magnus saw the director making a hand gesture, and he forced himself to push at Alec’s shoulders. “Sir,” he breathed, tipping his head back. 

Alec pulled back to look at his face. “What do you want?”

“You,” Magnus said without hesitation. Before he pulled Alec down again to kiss him, he was sure he heard him snort.

That had been a cheesy line but it always worked. And if it made Alec laugh it could only be good.

While they kissed, Alec kicked his pants off and reached into Magnus’ underwear to start jerking him off roughly. 

Magnus whimpered and rocked his hips in time with Alec’s hand until Alec abruptly pulled his hand away. 

“You have to earn it,” Alec said, moving out of Magnus’ line of reach. 

Magnus sat up and patted the bed in front of him. “Let me earn it. Lay down,” he instructed him. When Alec fixed him with a glare, he heaved a sigh.  _ “Sir.” _

Alec looked satisfied. He lay down in front of Magnus and folded his hands atop his stomach. 

Magnus leaned down to mouth over his cock through his underwear. He peered up at Alec to gauge his reaction, and was very pleased with the wide blue eyes and red cheeks he was met with. 

Then Magnus hooked his fingers into the waistband of Alec’s underwear and pulled them down.    
Magnus certainly didn’t waste any time in leaning down suck the head into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it almost painstakingly slowly. 

Alec let out a choked moan and tangled his fingers in Magnus’ hair. 

Magnus smirked around his cock and leaned down to get as much in his mouth as possible. Alec’s hips kept twitching like he wanted to thrust up into his mouth, but he was holding himself back, most likely for Magnus’ sake. 

Magnus was grateful for this. He wasn’t averse to having his face fucked but honestly, some men didn’t seem to remember that he still needed to breathe even when he had a cock in his mouth. 

When Alec was gasping and pulling on Magnus’ hair, Magnus pulled off his cock slowly, licking his lips. He licked across his slit and swallowed the precum that had gathered there. 

Alec let out a quiet moan and grabbed Magnus’ arm, pulling him up for a kiss. 

Their kisses before had been organised, but this was sloppy and messy and Magnus was finding it really hard to think. 

Alec moved Magnus until he was laying on his back again, then kicked his underwear off and went to straddle Magnus’ hips. “You have to stay quiet,” Alec told him, running a hand through Magnus’ hair just to mess it up some more. “Otherwise people in the next room will hear.” 

Magnus nodded wordlessly and reached over to wrap his hand around Alec’s cock. 

Alec thrusted forward into his fingers before he caught Magnus’ wrist in his hand and lifted it above Magnus’ head. 

“Will you keep still or do I have to tie you up?” he whispered in Magnus’ ear. 

Magnus had known this was going to happen, but that didn’t mean he was any less excited. His cock twitched. 

“You tell me,” he said, winking coquettishly and reaching up with his free hand to run his fingers through Alec’s hair. 

Alec fixed him with a look before getting up off the bed. Magnus sat up enough to admire Alec’s ass as he bent down to retrieve a tie from the floor, but then Alec had straightened up and turned to face him again. 

Magnus only had time to lay on his back again before Alec was on top of him. He grabbed his hands and looped the tie around his wrists in a figure eight before tying it securely to the headboard. 

Alec paused for a moment, peering at Magnus’ face. Magnus gave an almost indiscernible nod, and that was enough for Alec to keep going. 

“You need to stay quiet,” he reminded Magnus, leaning down to just barely brush their lips together before trailing his lips further down his body. 

Magnus bit his lip to try and stay quiet. 

(Not real hotel-sex quiet, though. Porn hotel-sex quiet was different). 

He kept letting out breathy little whimpers, and moaned softly when Alec licked over a nipple or grazed his teeth against his hipbone. 

And then Alec had gotten his underwear off and Magnus was completely naked. 

He spread his legs, rocking his hips up to try and get some friction on his cock even though it was impossible. 

Alec watched him for a moment before he held onto Magnus’ hips. 

“Quiet,” he reminded him before leaning down to lick a stripe up the underside of Magnus’ cock. 

Even if he had wanted to, Magnus couldn’t hold back the moan that escaped him. 

Alec looked up and raised his eyebrows. “What did I just say?” 

“I’m sorry, sorry, it won’t happen again,” Magnus breathed. Half of him was just acting but the other half of him was just desperate to have Alec’s mouth on his cock again. 

Alec seemed to accept this. He leaned down again and sank his mouth down on Magnus’ cock, bobbing his head a few times before pulling off. 

Magnus groaned quietly. This was  _ torture.  _

But he didn’t have to wait for long.

Alec kissed the head of his cock and then kissed his way down to his inner thigh, biting and sucking until the skin was marked. 

Magnus whined. He was thankful that he was just tied up; his only job was to look pretty and be fucked. If he had to do anything else he was sure he would have forgotten it all when faced with Alec. 

Alec kept biting, licking and sucking at his inner thighs for a while until Magnus was practically falling apart at the seams, desperate for  _ something.  _

He got that something when he felt Alec’s tongue against his entrance. He gave it a couple of broad licks before licking inside him, and Magnus was sure he would be able to cum just from this if he was given long enough. 

He was moaning loudly but Alec wasn’t making any attempt to shut him up. 

Alec pulled away far too soon for Magnus’ liking. He slithered out from where Magnus had wrapped his legs around his neck. 

Magnus was desperate to get Alec’s tongue inside him again, but when Alec started digging through the nightstand drawer, he relaxed. 

Alec didn’t seem to be in the mood for waiting around anymore, either. He slicked up his fingers with the lube and slid one in, and before long, pushed another one inside. 

Magnus moaned as he felt Alec scissoring his fingers, stretching his asshole in the best way. He wanted nothing more than to reach down and grab Alec’s hair or his wrist but his hands were tied too securely to wriggle them out. 

He could move his legs, though. He spread them as wide as he could, lifting his hips into the air and fucking himself on Alec’s fingers. 

Alec’s cock twitched, and he pulled his fingers out of Magnus. He tore a condom open and rolled it onto his cock quickly before lining himself up with Magnus. 

Magnus tried to keep his breathing even, but it was increasingly difficult with the way Alec was looking at him. 

And then he was pushing inside. Magnus wrapped his legs around Alec’s waist, digging his heels into the small of his back to try and make him push in faster. 

Alec didn’t change his pace, though. He pushed inside agonisingly slowly. Magnus just let his head fall back against the pillows, moaning when he was all the way inside. 

Alec stayed still for far longer than was strictly necessary. Magnus looked up to see his eyes twinkling with amusement. 

Was this seriously payback for making him laugh  _ once?  _

Magnus wouldn’t let him get away with this. Using his legs wrapped around Alec as leverage, he started rocking his hips against Alec, fucking himself onto his cock. 

“Fuck,” Alec breathed, watching him for a moment before grabbing his hips and starting to fuck him properly. 

Magnus had had a lot of sex in his life but it was rarely as good as this. 

Yeah, he hadn’t even known Alec for a day, but he was funny and sweet and attractive and really, really good at sex. 

Magnus moved to hook one of his legs over Alec’s shoulder. The new angle made him clench around Alec’s cock, and Alec moaned before leaning down to bite and suck at his neck. 

One of his hands was holding tight onto Magnus’ thigh, and now he moved the other to stroke Magnus’ cock in time with his thrusts and Magnus wasn’t sure how long they’d been fucking for but he was sure he would cum soon. 

He was determined to keep going for as long as possible, but the combination of Alec’s cock sliding in and out of him and his hand on his cock and his lips on his neck were going to push him over the edge quickly. 

And then Alec’s lips moved to his ear, and he felt his breath before he heard Alec whisper, “cum for me,” and Magnus was gone. 

He moaned loudly. “A– sir,” he groaned, cum spurting up to his chest. Alec was still fucking him, but now he was grinding his cock against Magnus’ prostate and Magnus felt like he’d been cumming for hours by the time Alec moaned into his ear and sagged against him, his cock pulsing in Magnus’ ass. 

They lay there, spent, for a few seconds.

“Cut!” the director yelled. 

Magnus jumped. In the heat of the moment he had forgotten that they were being watched. He flushed, closing his eyes for a moment and hoping he hadn’t done anything embarrassing during the shoot. He usually kept better control of himself while he was on the job. 

Alec pulled out of him and tied the condom off, tossing it into the bin beside the bed, and then reached over to untie Magnus’ hands. 

Magnus laughed sheepishly and sat up carefully, massaging his wrists. 

“Did I tie you too tightly?’ Alec asked, genuine concern in his eyes as well as post-orgasm bliss. 

Magnus shook his head. “No! No. It was perfect. Um. Thanks,” he stammered. He was pretty sure he had never thanked anyone he’d worked with before for the sex, let alone stammered in front of them. 

Alec looked pleased, but before he could say anything the director had approached them. He congratulated them on doing a good job and handed them both robes before disappearing off to check the footage. 

Magnus wiped the cum off his chest and stomach before pulling the robe around himself and standing up. Alec was waiting for him. That was unusual. 

Magnus went over to him nonetheless, typing the robe’s belt tight around his waist. “Did you have fun?” he asked. Why did Alec make him feel so uncharacteristically flustered? Obviously it was because Alec was beautiful and had just given him the best fuck of his life, but he was usually better at handling himself. 

Alec nodded silently for a moment before properly responding. “It was…yeah. Very fun,” he agreed. 

Magnus didn’t know if he was imagining things but his cheeks looked a little pink. 

They stepped into the dressing room together. There was a moment of silence. 

“Doyoucoffee?” Alec asked. 

Magnus turned to stare at him. “Excuse me?” 

Alec had gone bright red now. “Oh god. I was just…if you don’t…I just…” 

“Did you say coffee?” Magnus asked, taking pity on the poor man. 

Alec just nodded. 

“You want to go for coffee with me?” Magnus asked. He usually tried to play it cool around people he wanted to date, but he had a ridiculous grin on his face. 

Alec looked relieved that he had been understood. “It’s stupid, you don’t have to.”

Magnus shook his head and bumped his shoulder against Alec’s shoulder. “I’d love to. Like a date?” 

Alec looked surprised, but he was startled enough that he just automatically nodded.

* * *

Catarina sighed heavily. She loved Magnus dearly, as if he were her little brother (she wouldn’t go too far into that metaphor, if he was her little brother she didn’t think she’d be okay with watching him have sex on a regular basis), but he could be so awkward sometimes. 

He had caused surprisingly little trouble during today’s shoot with Alec. She was impressed. Maybe she’d take him out for coffee. Only problem was, she couldn’t find him. 

She asked around, and was told that he had gone into the dressing room half an hour ago. Catarina sighed again. He was probably playing some ridiculous game on his phone. 

She went to the dressing room and knocked once before stepping inside. 

If she hadn’t been working in the porn industry for so long she probably would have screamed. 

Magnus had Alec pressed up against the wall and the the robes they’d been given were on the floor beside them; they were very naked and they were both hard again and Catarina honestly didn’t know why she tried sometimes.

Magnus and Alec had both turned around to stare at her, wide-eyed. 

“Did you need something?” Magnus asked, far too innocently for someone who was grinding against the man he’d just had sex on camera with. 

Catarina could have yelled at him. She could have done any number of things, but if Magnus Bane deserved anything, he deserved happiness. And if there was any chance that he could find happiness with Alec Lightwood, she'd let him have that chance.

“No. Have fun,” she told him, closing the door firmly behind her and setting off to let people know not to go in there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAA
> 
> i have no idea if this is good or terrible or what, it's the first time i've written this kind of thing and it could be awful for all i know, but i got carried away and now it's over 4000 words long lol
> 
> (also, when i was about 3500 words in i had another idea that's probably better and more interesting but i wasn't going to delete everything i've already written, so i might write that as well, who knows!) 
> 
> anyway, thank you to ingrates for the request, i hope this isn't too terrible! 
> 
> thank you for reading, and you can send in any requests you would like and i'll do my best!


	7. Bartender AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for Peachesandcream!

“Two tequilas, handsome. One for me, one for you.”

Alec had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes.

When Jace and Isabelle had first roped him into working at the same bar as them, he had been reluctant, and the first time someone had said something like that to him he’d frozen up and Izzy had made the guy leave.

Now he was used to it, though.

“I don’t drink on the job,” he said shortly, stepping sideways to serve another customer.

It was the busiest time of night, exactly after the time people took to chat with friends and before the time they wanted to get drunk and make fools of themselves.

Alec didn’t really see the point of it all, to tell the truth.

Most of the time, working at the bar wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t usually as horrible busy as this, so he got time to talk to his siblings which was always nice.

And he’d gotten more than a few rather attractive guys’ numbers while he was on the job.

Izzy and Jace always teased him relentlessly when this happened. He never actually told them when he went on dates with the guys.

The crazy part of the shift lasted for just under an hour, but then the queue was manageable. Jace was left to serve drinks while Izzy and Alec cleaned up for a few minutes.

“Get anyone’s number tonight?” Izzy asked, smirking and nudging Alec.

Alec rolled his eyes. “No, Isabelle. I was working,” he said calmly.

“So was I, but I got three numbers,” Izzy said with a shrug. “Two guys and one very cute girl.”

“Will you do anything with these numbers?” Alec asked.

He’d known about Isabelle’s forays into bisexuality. At this point she was pretty much bisexual, all she needed to do was make it official. But Alec would give her all the time she needed to come to terms with it.

Isabelle shrugged and took three folded up receipts out of her pocket, waggling them in Alec’s face. “We’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?”

Alec tugged her hair playfully and wiped down the counter. “Sure, sure.”

Jace suddenly poked his head over their shoulders. “I have to pee, can you guys take the bar?”

“Whatever,” Alec sighed, turning to serve the customers who were waiting.

He knew fine well that Jace would just be going to see that red headed girl he’d met a couple of weeks ago.

The way Isabelle raised her eyebrows at him made it obvious that she was thinking the same thing.

Alec and Izzy took care of things for a while. Jace returned, his hair messier than it had been before he left, to join them.

Things were easy to manage by this time of the night. Not as many people were ordering drinks, most were just dancing.

Jace kept fidgeting.

“Go and talk to your girlfriend,” Isabelle told him after he’d been shuffling coasters as if they were a pack of cards for fifteen minutes.

Jace looked startled. “What? She’s not my girlfriend.”

Isabelle rolled her eyes at him. “Fine, your _friend_ or friend with benefits or whatever she is. I can tell you want to.”

Jace looked like he was about to argue, but he ended up going behind the bar. He emerged from the ‘staff only’ door beside the bar a moment later, waving at them before disappearing into the crowd.

Izzy left Alec to go and chat to a group of girls who were waiting for drinks. The bar was quiet enough that Alec could set about doing some more cleaning. That only meant that they would be able to leave earlier.

He had been methodically stacking glasses when he felt Izzy’s foot nudge against his calf. He turned to look at her.

She was still talking to the group of girls, but she nodded towards the other end of the bar.

A young man was sitting on one of the stools looking dejected.

Alec wasn’t really a touchy-feely person, but he liked to make sure people were okay when they were alone at the bar. Especially at this time of night. He put the glass he was holding on top of the stack before going to stand beside where the man was sitting.

“Everything okay?” he asked, leaning down to get his attention.

The man startled, sitting bolt upright and staring at Alec like a deer in the headlights for a moment. But then he relaxed and smiled at Alec.

Though the smile was very clearly fake, Alec couldn’t help but notice how stupidly attractive he was.

Dark, sharp features; lean body; and Alec would be willing to bet that the man was taller than him. And he was dressed to the nines.

Alec thought most people looked sort of ridiculous in some of the outfits they wore on nights out, but the man still looked incredible, even though he seemed to have dipped himself in a vat of glitter before entering the club.

“Just dandy,” the man said. His voice was lower than Alec had expected it to be. “Just found my girlfriend cheating on me.”

Alec winced. “Ouch. Are you alright?”

The man shrugged. “Been better. But I could use a drink. Something alcoholic and fruity that comes with an umbrella in it, if you have that,” he said, resting his chin on his hand.

Alec felt an inexplicable urge to lean over and kiss his nose. “Something fruity coming right up,” he told him.

He gathered some ingredients – vodka, raspberries, a lemon, soda water and sugar - and set about mixing them.

“So  did you just come across her by coincidence?” he asked.

The man snorted. “I was out with her.” He laughed at Alec’s incredulous look. “I know. What kind of idiot goes out with their boyfriend and cheats on him in the same club?” he asked. Despite his earlier laughter, he mostly just looked sort of sad.

Alec scrunched up his nose and shook the cocktail over his shoulder to mix it. “She’s not worth your time. Trust me, you get to hear a lot of this sort of thing when you work somewhere like this. But the cheater usually ends up worse off.”

At least that made him smile slightly. “Maybe karma really does work,” he suggested.

Alec chuckled, pouring the drink into a glass. He cut off a twist of lemon peel to put on top of the drink, and then after taking a look at his sparkly outfit, slid a glitter stick into the drink as well. He pushed it gently over to him.

He started taking out his wallet, but Alec immediately shook his head. “No. It’s on the house. You got cheated on, the least you deserve is a free drink.”

They were technically allowed to give out a few free drinks a night, but that usually meant a vodka mixer or something. Not a cocktail that would usually cost closer to ten dollars. But Alec hadn’t given out anything for free that night so he supposed it was fine.

The man looked like he was about to protest, but he raised an eyebrow. “Can I pay you with my excellent company?” he asked, one corner of his mouth lifting in a smirk.

Alec glanced over to Isabelle. The other girls had left and she was watching Alec out of the corner of her eye. When Alec looked at her, she waved a hand, moving to serve the next customer who approached the bar.

Alec leaned against the bar beside the man. “Yes, you can pay me with your company,” he agreed, hoping that the lights would hide the fact that his cheeks were heating up.

The man looked thrilled. “I’m Magnus, by the way. Magnus Bane. And it’s a pleasure,” he said, sticking a hand out for Alec to shake.

Alec shook his hand firmly. “Alec Lightwood,” he told him.

Magnus looked pleased. “Are you a permanent member of staff here, Alec?”

Alec tried not to think about the way his name rolled off Magnus’ tongue like that. He nodded quickly. “Yes. Yeah. My brother and sister worked here first and they sort of dragged me into it,” he explained, gesturing towards Izzy.

“Hm. I can see the resemblance,” Magnus said, looking between Alec and Izzy for a moment.

Alec thought he was probably thinking about how pretty Izzy was. He ignored the weird pang of jealousy.

“So do you have any siblings?” Alec asked quickly when he realised he’d been silent for a moment too long.

Magnus shook his head. “Nope. Well, I have two friends who have adopted me as their little brother slash son, but no family by blood.”

Alec nodded. He knew it would be rude to pry but he was always a little bit curious when it came to things like that, especially considering the fact that he came from a family of six.

“Are you wondering if I have a tragic backstory?” Magnus asked, leaning up to meet Alec’s eyes as he sipped his drink.

Alec shook his head quickly. “No! No. I mean, I…no. You don’t have to tell me.”

Magnus rolled his eyes fondly and beckoned Alec closer. Alec leaned in until their faces were only inches from each other.

“I don’t talk about it much. I don’t want people to overhear. I’m not telling you everything but my dad was an asshole and I stopped talking to him as soon as I moved to America,” he murmured.

Alec nodded and rested his weight on his arms which were folded on top of the bar. “Where did you move from?” he asked, hoping that this might be a more cheerful conversation route.

Magnus leaned back slightly so they could actually look at each other’s faces as they talked rather than just staring into each other’s eyes.

Not that Alec had disliked that. At all.

“Indonesia,” Magnus said with a broad smile. “I think I would’ve liked it there if my father hadn’t been terrible.” He kept smiling at Alec for a moment before he frowned. “Why am I telling you all this? It took months for Catarina to get any of this out of me.”

Alec laughed and shook his head. “People tell bartenders things?” he suggested.

Magnus looked amused. “Or maybe I’m just susceptible to extremely attractive men,” he said with a wink.

Alec was struck dumb for a moment, but he found his voice. Sort of. “I–I don’t…you don’t, me? Attractive,” he spluttered. He was sure Magnus would be able to see his blush, even in the dim light of the bar.

Magnus looked thrilled. “You’re very attractive, Alec. Alexander,” he said. The name sounded like a magic word coming from Magnus.

“You…I’m. Uh. You’re beautiful,” Alec managed to say without falling over his own words.

“So you’re interested in men?” Magnus asked, tipping his head to the side.

Alec nodded more quickly than was strictly necessary. “Yes. Men.”

Magnus was stirring his cocktail with his straw. Alec focussed on that movement for a moment. It was almost hypnotic. “Do you have a boyfriend, Alexander?”

Alec looked up from the straw into Magnus’ face. The glitter around his eyes entranced him for a moment before he could answer. “I don’t have a boyfriend,” he told him.

He couldn’t stop thinking about how Magnus looked like some kind of glittery magical creature and Alec was just wearing his black t-shirt with the name of the bar on it.

He’d never been into fashion but he found himself wishing he had made more of an effort.

“Well, I no longer have a girlfriend,” Magnus said, raising his eyebrows.

Alec bit his lip. “Was she a long-term thing? I mean…I don’t want to be a dick but I don’t want to be your rebound or anything.”

Magnus shook his head and waved a hand. “No, no. No. No. I was only dating her for a week. In fact, we had one coffee date. But it still stings that she cheated,” he said. “And if you don’t want to, it’s okay, you don’t have to feel obligated to the sad loser at the bar who just got cheated on.”

Alec couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t feel like that at all. Come on.” He glanced at Izzy to make sure she was distracted before leaning closer to Magnus again. When he focussed, he could see each individual speck of glitter around his eyes. “We could go for coffee this week if you’re free?”

Magnus nodded excitedly and took his phone out of his pocket, sliding it across the counter to Alec.

Alec added a new contact and entered his name and number. Magnus smiled at the screen for a moment.

“I was going to take a picture of you but the lighting isn’t good. I’ll get a photo when we go out,” Magnus told him firmly.

They chatted for a while longer until the bar closed. Everything was clean, Jace had already gone home (or to the redhead’s house), and Izzy was locking up, so Alec walked upstairs with Magnus.

“Do you live far away?” he asked, resting his hand against the taller man’s shoulders as he walked up the stairs.

Magnus didn’t seem particularly unsteady on his feet but Alec wanted to be sure.

Magnus shook his head. “Nope. I’ll get a cab but it’s only five minutes away by car.”

Alec walked him to a cab, and got a kiss on the cheek for his efforts. With that, Magnus was gone.

When the taxi had rounded the corner, Izzy seemed to appear out of thin air behind Alec. “A kiss?” she asked.

Alec rolled his eyes and linked arms with her to set off on the short walk home. “He was drunk,” he muttered.

* * *

 

Izzy was feeling surprisingly chipper considering the unholy hour of the morning, so had decided to go and surprise Alec.

He tended to wake up early and lay around in bed all morning, even when they hadn’t had a night working the bar, but if she was up and around, the least he could do was keep her company.

And if he didn’t want to, she would offer to buy him breakfast. That always worked.

She made her way to his apartment. It was only a two minute walk away from her own, and she could have easily phoned him instead of going over, but that would ruin the surprise.

She poked around her keys for a minute before finding the key to Alec’s.

(She had insisted that he give her a spare in case she ever needed it. Not that he had needed much convincing).

She let herself into the apartment quietly. Yes, she planned to wake him up, but she didn’t want him to wake up and panic and think there was a burglar in the house.

She crept through to the kitchen.

‘ _He’s not there, so he must be in his bedroom,’_ she thought.

She tiptoed back through the apartment and slowly pushed his bedroom door open.

And nearly screamed.

Alec was shirtless, his sheets twisted around his waist (where, let’s face it, he probably wasn’t wearing anything either). This wasn’t what made her scream, though.

The fact that another young man was curled up in bed with him was what surprised her.

They were pressed close together in bed. The man who wasn’t Alec sort of looked like he was fighting to keep the blankets to himself. He was either naked or wearing very small underwear.

She slowly tiptoed around to see if she recognised the man. It took a minute, but eventually her brain supplied her with the image of the very glittery and talkative man who’d been talking to Alec a couple of weeks ago at the bar.

He looked different without the fancy clothes and the makeup and the glitter, but he was very handsome. She thought he was definitely attractive enough for her Alec.

She stepped back to look at them. If it had been Jace, Izzy would have leapt onto the bed just to mess with him, but since it was Alec she stayed quiet.

He looked peaceful in his sleep and if this man made him happy, she wouldn’t ruin that by freaking him out.

That didn’t mean she was above taking a couple of pictures, though. She liked to think ahead to Alec’s potential future wedding where she would definitely have a powerpoint presentation filled with embarrassing and/or incriminating photos of Alec.

She managed to snap a few photos of them before Alec’s mystery man rolled over and okay, yes, they were definitely naked.

Isabelle couldn’t help noting that he had a really nice ass and kind of considered taking a photo, but ultimately decided that that would be crossing the line into really weird and creepy, so quietly excused herself from the room.

She couldn’t resist sending Alec a text, though.

_‘Did u have a fun night? ;) ;) ;) <3 xxx’ _

A few hours later, she received the reply.

_‘HOW DO YOU KNOW.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so thank you for requesting this because i had SO MUCH FUN WRITING IT. 
> 
> I just. Love them all so much. I can't handle it. 
> 
> It's nearly 3am and it's incredibly windy here and I don't think I'll get to sleep for hours yet so I wrote this instead, and now I'm emotional because THESE BOYS LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH
> 
> thank you for reading/commenting/kudosing!! And feel free to keep the requests coming, you all have super interesting ideas and so far I've really enjoyed exploring them!


	8. Confident!Alec

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is for blueflowerchild!

When Magnus and Alec first met, Magnus hadn’t thought he could possibly become any more enamoured with him. 

He was handsome, funny and sweet. And he hadn’t believed that he was any of those things. 

Magnus had sung  _ What Makes You Beautiful _ to him at least once a week. More often than not, once a day. 

(Alec hated being reminded of the time Magnus had been drunk and refused to stop singing it at him for at least four hours). 

But Alec was full of surprises, and of course, Magnus had found new ways to love him over time. 

Of course there had been the physical developments in their relationship. Kissing, sex, more sex, better sex. But those weren’t important. 

What really hit Magnus whenever he thought about it was the way Alec had changed. 

Magnus always felt like a pretentious asshole when he said it, but he matured young. He went through things when he was a child that forced him to grow up quickly, and he moved away from home to a new country and a big city where people made fun of his accent and judged him when he didn’t really understand what the hell was going on in American football. 

Alec hadn’t had an easy childhood by any means, but for the most part, he’d had a loving family. His mother loved him and had looked after him until he’d moved out to go to college, which was when he met Magnus. 

Both of them were young, but Alec had  _ seemed  _ young. He was quiet and tended to overthink things.

And, yes, he’d been almost painfully shy. The first time they met, Alec could barely get full sentences out around Magnus. 

That was the change in Alec Magnus would never really get over. 

When he had been shy, it had been endearing. He blushed all the time, he stuttered over compliments, and he got ridiculously flustered when Magnus so much as touched his butt in public. 

For a while Magnus had thought that this shyness was what made Alec endearing to him, but as it turned out, he was very wrong. 

He had told Alec that he was beautiful and handsome and perfect on a regular basis. Alec always said that he was being ridiculous before giving Magnus the exact same compliments. 

Magnus had always meant the compliments, of course, but he hadn’t expected that he’d actually manage to convince Alec that they were true. 

But over the years, Alec had stopped getting so flustered when Magnus called him beautiful. He didn’t freak out when Magnus touched his butt in public. He was far more confident when it came to sex. 

If Magnus’ attraction to Alec really had been rooted in his shyness, he would have stopped being attracted to him, but it was pretty much the opposite. 

Getting to see Alec realise what an incredible person he was was one of the biggest privileges Magnus had ever – and would ever – have. And it was crazy to think that he might have had some part in making him realise that. 

He could almost pinpoint exactly when the change had happened. 

Magnus had been at the Lightwood house for dinner. They had been dating for just over a year. 

Robert Lightwood had made a sly dig at them over the dinner table. Usually, Alec ignored these comments and tried to change the subject, but this time he put his knife and fork down and gave Robert a piece of his mind. 

Magnus couldn’t even remember what Robert had made a comment about but he definitely remembered the incredible sex they had in Alec’s room straight after dinner. 

After that incident, Alec had been noticeably more confident in all aspects of their relationship. 

He was more open to showing affection in public, he no longer refused to kiss Magnus in front of his siblings, and he made a conscious effort to kiss Magnus more often when Robert was around. 

Magnus was also sure he knew what the catalyst to that change had been. Only a few days before, Alec had had a bad day and the two of them had been curled up in bed at night.

Before Magnus knew it, Alec was telling him about his childhood. Not standard things like stories from school, though; real, important things that had happened in his childhood that had shaped him into the man he was today. 

Most of these were things that Robert had said. All of these things hadn’t had a positive impact. 

But Magnus couldn’t be more proud of Alec for overcoming all of that and becoming so much more confident. 

Alec’s confidence had given Magnus more confidence, too. Not in himself – he had self-confidence in spades already – but in their relationship. 

They had been dating for over a year, so of course Magnus trusted Alec, but he had still been worried about how things would make Alec feel, so he might not have been completely open with him in the first year of their relationship. 

In the second year, though, he finally got around to telling Alec about his own childhood. And yes, he’d cried, because telling anyone about that made him feel vulnerable and scared, but Alec hadn’t tried to interrupt even once. He had just listened and been a shoulder to cry on, which was exactly what Magnus had needed.

So after they had talked with each other about these things, their relationship had somehow gotten even better than it had been before. 

Magnus sometimes hated to admit that. Admitting it just made people like Catarina, who was always urging him to ‘talk about his feelings’, unbearably smug. 

But it was still true. Alec knew him better than anyone had ever known him, and better than anyone else would ever know him. Hell, Alec probably knew Magnus even better than he knew himself. Magnus liked to think he could say the same for Alec. 

And, the funny thing was, the thought didn’t scare Magnus. A few years ago, it would have terrified him.    
As sociable as he was, he liked to keep his cards close to his chest, so to speak. He didn’t trust people. Trust had never done him any favours.

But now when he said he was happy, he really meant it. When people asked, he didn’t say ‘yes, I’m happy’ with that horrible weight in his heart asking  _ ‘are you really happy? are you sure?’  _ because he had Alec. 

Not only Alec. He had Catarina and Ragnor and Isabelle and Clary and Jace and Simon and even Maryse. 

When he’d first moved to New York he hadn’t been sure if he’d ever meet anyone he’d want to share his life with, but now he couldn’t imagine it any other way.

* * *

 

“Alexander! I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Magnus said brightly as he stepped outside into the balmy summer night. 

Alec was sitting on a bench, facing away from Magnus. He didn’t reply. He was looking at something.

Magnus let the door swing shut behind him, the music instantly becoming muffled. He hesitantly approached Alec, worried about what it might be, but when he saw the piece of paper covered in Magnus’ own familiar, loopy handwriting he relaxed. “You found that?” he asked softly, sitting down beside him. 

Alec nodded and grabbed Magnus’ hand, lacing their fingers together. “I love you so much, do you know that?” he asked, pulling Magnus close for a kiss. 

Magnus slid an arm around Alec’s shoulders. “I had my suspicions,” he murmured, pressing their foreheads together and gazing into Alec’s shining eyes. “I love you too. But you already know that,” he added. 

Alec stayed close to him for a moment before pulling back and hastily wiping his eyes. “You know, for someone who promised himself he wouldn’t cry today, I’ve cried an awful lot.” 

Magnus shuffled closer to him, sitting so that their hips were pressed together. “So have I. And I’m wearing makeup. You’re lucky Isabelle is the master of smudge-proof eyeliner otherwise you’d be sitting next to a raccoon.” 

Alec gave a watery laugh. “That wouldn’t be so bad. At least raccoons are cute.” 

Magnus pinched his thigh playfully. “What, are you saying I’m not cute?”

“No! You’re very cute. The cutest. I promise,” Alec insisted, wrapping his arm around Magnus’ middle and kissing his nose. 

“You’re lucky you’re so handsome. Otherwise I might not let you off so easy,” Magnus mumbled, sliding his hands around to straighten Alec’s tie for him. 

While Magnus was distracted, Alec leaned in to kiss him again, slower this time. Magnus had just wrapped his arms around Alec’s neck when a door opened behind them, the muffled music suddenly getting louder. 

“You two get back in here, you can’t stay out there all night!” Isabelle called before going back inside, the door slamming shut behind her. 

Alec laughed and stood up, holding his hands out for Magnus. “May I offer you a hand, Mr Lightwood-Bane?” 

Magnus couldn’t stop a ridiculous dopey grin from spreading across his face. “You may, Mr Lightwood-Bane.” While they were still alone and the air was warm and everything was perfect, Magnus took one more opportunity to kiss Alec. 

And then the door opened again and he heard Izzy’s heels clacking against the flagstones as she approached. “It’s your wedding reception, you’ll be able to have all the sex you want later tonight, go in there and dance!” she said, dragging both of them none too gently back inside. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idek what this is tbh
> 
> i was going to do it a different way but it really didn't work the way i wanted it to, so then i just spouted all my confident!alec feelings at the page and this happened?? idk, it's the first time i've written something like this.
> 
> but i feel like it's fun to do something different this time! it isn't just them meeting, it's them getting married!! what fun!!
> 
> (and blueflowerchild, i realise that i didn't actually end up writing very much actual confident!alec, but i promise he'll be showing up in later chapters!!)
> 
> thank you for reading, and i don't know if i've said this yet, but thank you for your requests!! they're all super interesting, and as long as they inspire me i'll try my best to get them written for you!! feel free to keep requesting things because you're all way more creative than I am!!! ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و


	9. High School!AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for habibinasir!

The only thing getting Magnus through school was the fact that he only had a year left.

He hated it. The only upside was that it got him out of the house and away from his stepfather, but he was usually away on business trips so Magnus normally had the house to himself anyway.

He only went because if he skipped, the school would contact his stepfather and he didn’t want to think about what would happen if they did that.

Part of him knew that he was only being so negative because it was eight o’clock in the morning and his eyeliner had gone wrong five times and there had been no milk left for his cereal.

He glared at his reflection and viciously scrubbed all of the eyeliner off, deciding that just starting again would be the best option.

He reapplied some dark grey eyeshadow before trying again with the eyeliner. He managed to make his eyes even before putting mascara on. He painted his lips red and stared at himself for a few moments.

He needed to re-dye his hair. The blue streaks were already fading.

He knew that he wouldn’t attract as much attention if he didn’t wear makeup. At first he had considered just dressing like all the other kids. His stepfather had made some homophobic comment when Magnus had been eating breakfast, though, so he had worn as much makeup as possible without looking like a clown just to piss him off.

All things considered, it had turned out well. Magnus wasn’t the sort of person who liked conflict, but wearing makeup and always wearing a leather jacket allowed him to fall into a different persona at school.

He hadn’t set out to do that, though; it had just sort of happened. And he could pinpoint exactly when it had happened.

It was his second day of school. He hadn’t spoken to anyone except Catarina, who’d been assigned to show him around the school, and Ragnor, her sulky friend.

He’d been trying to open his locker – he still couldn’t figure out how to do the combination – when one of the idiot sports players had appeared behind him.

Magnus couldn’t remember exactly what the guy had said, or what he had said himself, but he remembered the football player making fun of his accent and doing a crude impression.

He definitely remembered kicking the guy hard in the balls.

(He had never been more grateful for Dr Martens).

A few people had cheered, and the football player had looked like he was about to punch Magnus in retaliation when Catarina had grabbed him around the waist and pulled him away.

He was smiling at the memory when he glanced at his phone. 8:13. He groaned and quickly changed out of his pyjamas, accidentally putting his foot through a hole in his ripped jeans. When he pulled them on all the way, the hole had gone from a small frayed patch to a hole that stretched across his thigh.

He had done the exact same thing to both of the knees, so there was more leg exposed than he would normally bother with at school, but he didn’t have time to do anything about it. At least he had nice legs.

He pulled on the first shirt he found, then a leather jacket, then he jammed his feet into his usual boots and tied them hastily.

He shoved a pen in his pocket before locking the door and running for the bus stop.

When he rounded the corner, the last few people were just climbing on. He picked up the pace, sprinting to the stop and arriving just as the doors were closing.

The engine roared but Magnus bashed the door a couple of times to get the driver’s attention.

Luckily, it was the driver who didn’t seem to hate children. She stopped and let him get on before setting off again.

Magnus stalked down the bus and curled up in his usual seat near the back, staring out the window. At least the day could only go uphill from here.

* * *

 

He stalked through the hallways and into the classroom. He managed not to come across any of the football players, but he was still in a less than favourable mood.

He flopped into his seat beside Catarina.

“Morning,” she said brightly, undeterred by Magnus’ sour expression. On her other side, Ragnor raised a lazy hand in greeting.

Catarina and Ragnor were the only people Magnus was willing to talk to at school. At first, he had thought that Catarina was only talking to him out of necessity. She had been told to show him around, and Magnus had been sure that she would leave him to his own devices after a few days.

He had been very wrong. She was strangely protective of him, and she got very defensive of him whenever anyone tried to make fun of him. Not that he needed defending.

Even so, Magnus had been unable to resist returning her affections. She was kind to him and he was grateful.  

Plus, the three of them could sit together at the back of the class and bitch about people which was always fun.

Magnus paid no attention to what the teacher was saying, but stood up when the bell rang to signal the end of registration.

“What do we have first?” he asked, falling into step with Catarina and Ragnor easily. Most people gave them a wide berth in the corridor.

“Gym,” Catarina said. “Did you bring your stuff today? You know what the teacher said last week.”

Magnus felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head. “Fuck. I thought today was Wednesday,” he muttered. “I was late this morning, I forgot to pick it up.”

Catarina shoved him gently. “You can’t skip again. And you know he’ll make you wear stuff from the lost and found.”

Magnus groaned. He wanted nothing more than to skip class and hide somewhere, but he’d skipped last week and he tried not to skip two weeks in a row.

He regretted his decision when he informed their gym teacher that he had forgotten his stuff and he was given a t-shirt that was about sixteen sizes too large and an extremely short pair of shorts.

Magnus had had a pair of Converse in his locker so at least he didn’t have to wear this stupid outfit with his boots.

Part of him had begun to hope that he wouldn’t look too bad, but when he straightened up from tying his shoelaces and Ragnor started laughing loudly, he lost all hope. Not that Ragnor was a reliable fashion source.

Magnus caught sight of his reflection as he walked past a door and sort of wanted to punch himself in the face. He glanced at Ragnor who also looked miserable.

“Do you want to get out of gym?” he asked, tucking his overlarge shirt into the waistband of the shorts.

Ragnor perked up. “Yes. But you said you wouldn’t skip. What will we do?”

Magnus tapped the side of his nose. “Just wait and see. We need the element of surprise to be on our side.”

They filed into the gym hall and lined up with the rest of the boys. The teacher was talking about cooperation or something. He started walking up and down the line. Ragnor kept nudging Magnus and glancing over at him.

Magnus ignored him, but when the teacher was near them, he raised his hand. “Sir, I don’t feel well,” he said.

The teacher ignored him. “You’ve said that the past five times you’ve actually come to this class, Bane. Man up.”

Magnus rolled his eyes at that stupid phrase but folded his arms.

“That was your big plan?” Ragnor hissed.

Magnus rolled his eyes at him and tried to ignore the people who had come in late and were standing on his other side.

The teacher walked up and down the line a couple more times. Magnus made sure to keep shifting his weight from foot to foot the first time he came past.

The second time, he made sure to look as uncomfortable as possible. He let the teacher get to the end of the line, and when he turned around, Magnus nudged Ragnor before closing his eyes and letting himself fall back in what he hoped was a convincing faint.

Yes, he had warned Ragnor, but Magnus was still impressed by how quickly he caught him.

The teacher stopped talking and came over to look at Magnus.

Magnus forced himself to keep his body lax. He could sense the teacher leaning close to look at his face.

“Alec, take him to the nurse,” he said.

“Do you want me to take him?” Ragnor asked.

Magnus had to try his best not to let his confusion show on his face. Wasn’t Ragnor holding him up?

“I’m sure Alec can handle it,” the teacher said.

Magnus racked his brains to try and think who Alec was. He recognised the name. He was pretty sure he was on the football team. If he was right, this Alec would probably shove him into a cupboard and leave him there so that he could return to his precious gym class.

Magnus chastised himself. Alec the stranger had caught him before Ragnor the friend, after all.

Magnus was snapped out of his thoughts by Alec moving. He had been holding Magnus up with his hands on his back, but now he moved one hand under his legs and scooped him up.

It didn’t even sound like his breathing had changed. Magnus was considering ways to feel Alec’s arms when he ‘woke up’.

He was carried out of the gym hall and down the corridor. Alec didn’t say anything. It probably would have been weird if he had said something, considering Magnus was supposed to be unconscious.

Magnus wasn’t sure where they were, but when he was sure they were out of the gym department, he opened his eyes.

And, oh god, he didn’t know how the hell he hadn’t noticed Alec before. Messy dark hair, blue eyes, and overall the most beautiful face Magnus was sure he’d ever seen.

And for once he wasn’t exaggerating.

Alec looked startled when he saw that Magnus was awake, but he didn’t put him down.

(Magnus noted that he still didn’t look like he was exerting any effort to carry him).

“Are you okay?” Alec asked, turning around to push a door open with his back.

Magnus nodded, swinging his legs. He was tempted to tell Alec that he’d been faking, but even if he was beautiful, he could have been an asshole. “I’m fine. I always try to tell them that they shouldn’t make me do gym but they never listen, and then shit like this happens.”

Alec laughed and squeezed Magnus’ thigh. Magnus thought he might really faint this time.

“I’m Magnus, by the way. Magnus Bane,” he said, reaching up to pat Alec’s shoulder in lieu of a handshake.

“I know,” Alec said. He stopped walking after he said that and stared at Magnus with wide eyes. “Oh god. I mean, everyone knows you. You’re Magnus Bane,” he said quickly.

Magnus raised his eyebrows and slid his hand from Alec’s shoulder to his neck. “I wasn’t aware that I was famous.”

Alec’s face had gone quite red by now. It was quite endearing. “I just mean…you’re…the best looking guy at school,” he said. Magnus grinned and Alec nearly dropped him, fumbling until he was holding onto him tighter than before. “And everyone knows you because you’re funny and you wear cool clothes and you don’t let anyone give you crap.”

Magnus beamed. “Thank you, Alec. I wish I was in classes with you. I try to avoid the football team at all costs but I think I’m regretting that.”

Alec started walking again. His face was still very red.

Magnus watched him. He liked to think he was an observant person, and there was a chance that Alec was interested in men. He had called Magnus attractive, after all. He shifted in Alec’s arms to get his attention. “Do you have a free period after this?” he asked.

Alec nodded, turning around to push another door open. “Yeah, why?”

“Do you want to get coffee?” Magnus asked, squeezing his shoulder.

Alec stopped walking again. “With you?”

“With me,” Magnus agreed.

“You’re sick,” Alec told him.

Magnus shook his head. “I was faking. My friend was supposed to catch me but he has the reaction time of a sloth.”

Alec raised his eyebrows. “You’re a good actor,” he said, then he paused. “Do you want me to keep carrying you?”

“I’m enjoying it very much but you can put me down,” Magnus said. He didn’t wait for him to do that, though; he swung his legs down and stood, still holding onto Alec’s shoulder. “So do you want to go for coffee?”

“Yeah! Yeah. Definitely. Thank you,” Alec said. “But do you want to go back to change clothes first?”

Magnus let Alec take him back towards the gym department. “Will you go back to class?” he asked.

Alec shook his head. “I hate gym. I mean, I like sports but I hate the way they treat you like you’re an idiot if you’re not athletic in gym,” he explained.

Magnus could have kissed him right there and then. He resisted, though. “I hate gym. Period. My makeup always runs.”

Alec shot him an amused look. “Yeah, because I’m sure you look completely terrible,” he said dryly.

Magnus smirked. “Are you flirting with me?”

Alec’s cheeks flushed again impressively quickly. “No! I mean…I don’t want you to be uncomfortable,” he said quickly.

“I wouldn’t be uncomfortable if you were flirting with me,” Magnus said, smiling widely at him.

Alec looked a little dumbfounded, but he stepped into the changing rooms and started changing back into his own clothes.

Magnus felt like a creep but he didn’t think he would have been able to resist admiring Alec even if his life depended on it. Holy shit, he was impressed. Magnus hadn’t thought that people who looked like that really existed.

He felt himself blushing when Alec pulled his sweater over his head and met his eyes, though.

“Were you just looking at me?” Alec asked, a smile playing on his lips.

“No way,” Magnus insisted. He hastily got out of the stupid t-shirt and shorts, folding them up and going to put them by the door for the teacher to collect.

When he turned around, Alec was staring at him, looking sort of dazed. As soon as he caught Magnus looking, he turned to face away from him. “Sorry!” he called over his shoulder.

Magnus knew his face was probably bright red, but he walked back to get his clothes and patted Alec’s shoulder on the way past. “Don’t apologise. I stared at you, you stare at me,” he said, trying to ignore how flustered he felt.

He bent to pull his jeans on, being careful this time not to shove his feet through the rips. He pulled them all the way up and buttoned them. When he straightened up and turned around, Alec’s eyes were trained on where he was sure his ass had just been.

“Were you looking at my butt?” he asked as he pulled his shirt on.

Alec was still flushed red. “No. I mean yes. I– would you be offended if I was?”

Magnus shook his head and sat down to put his boots on. “Definitely not. In fact, I think I’d be offended if you weren’t. I think I have a nice butt.”

He was surprised about Alec’s outfit. He’d expected a tight shirt or something, not a baggy black sweater and jeans. He looked good, though. Annoyingly good.

They managed to escape gym without being seen by anyone. They got shitty coffee from the cafeteria and went outside.

It was a little too cold, but Magnus just took that as an opportunity to sit closer to Alec.

And if they ended up kissing and exchanging phone numbers…well, Magnus wasn’t going to complain about adding someone new to his limited friend group.

Especially if that someone new was Alec Lightwood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i should be doing more things for uni or working on the what are we?, but instead i got WAY TOO ABSORBED IN THIS
> 
> high school AUs are my ultimate kryptonite, i was going to try and do all the prompts i have in order but i couldn't wait any longer to do this, it was calling out to me, so thank you for prompting this!
> 
> (and depending on how things go, i might end up doing a multichapter high school AU after what are we? finishes because i love them so much and there's a severe lack of high school AUs when it comes to malec!) 
> 
> (and let's face it, i have magnus' life planned out in what is probably too much detail, and alec is sort of the main protagonist in what are we, so maybe magnus will be our protag next time?!)
> 
> anyway, thank you for reading, i really hope you enjoy this as much as i enjoyed writing it!!


	10. Bloggers!AU

Alec used to feel sort of self-conscious about having a blog.

He enjoyed blogging, and it was a good way to organise his thoughts and opinions, but he would have been petrified if anyone he knew in real life found it.

Now, though, he was more confident. It was still just a hobby, he didn’t make money from it or anything, but he had a fair number of followers and he was proud of the photos he posted (which were mostly of various things in and around New York).

For a while when he had started posting things, he had been quiet. He didn’t really interact with other people, he just posted his photos and hoped for the best.

But then people had started sending him messages, and of course he replied, and that was when he started getting more popular.

(And he had had a spike in his follower count the first time he posted a picture of himself. That had been strange.)

His photos usually got a lot of notes, but he definitely didn’t consider himself a ‘popular blog’. And he still felt too nervous to talk to some of his mutual followers.

One mutual in particular.

He was called Magnus and he lived in New York, and his blog was sort of similar to Alec’s apart from the fact that he put more of a personal stamp on his posts.

Alec just posted photos, sometimes with the location in the caption, but otherwise he didn’t leave a caption. Magnus always wrote things to go with his photos, though. Whether it was a joke, a fact, or a weird anecdote about the place.

Alec had scrolled all the way to the beginning of his blog, and he had started out blogging about the move from Indonesia to New York.

He had gotten popular pretty quickly. Even some of his firsts posts had over a hundred notes.

The other thing was that Magnus was the most attractive person Alec had seen in his life.

Along with stories and pictures of things in the city, Magnus posted a lot of photos of himself. Sometimes they were selfies with funny things in the background, a lot of the time they were selfies with his cat, and most of the time they were photos of his outfits and makeup.

Alec wasn’t a fashionable person; he wouldn’t be posting any OOTDs soon. But he could appreciate that Magnus dressed himself extremely well.

Alec remembered the day Magnus had followed him back. He had nearly fallen out of his chair when he got the notification, and had had to make an excuse when Jace asked what was wrong.

He could vaguely remember himself saying that it had been a muscle spasm.

Ever since that day, he had been trying to pluck up the courage to send Magnus a message. Or, even better, to just reply to one of his posts. That would be fine. It was a normal thing for mutuals to do.

Whenever he typed a message out, though, he would hover the mouse over the ‘send’ button for a moment before quickly deleting the whole thing.

Magnus always seemed extremely friendly when he replied to messages, but Alec didn’t want to be the weird, over-friendly mutual, so he just kept quiet.

* * *

 

Alec sometimes felt a little weird about posting selfies, but his followers always seemed to enjoy it when he did, so he tried to post at least one every week.

He had realised that he hadn’t posted one in two weeks, though, and quickly went to take a quick picture of himself in the mirror.

(He was wearing a shirt that Izzy had bought for him so he didn’t feel too awkward about his outfit).

He took a few photos until he got one that he was satisfied with, and posted it quickly before he could over think things.

He didn’t really think about it for a while after that. Jace dragged him out to get coffee with him, and Alec was happy to lose himself in his brother’s endless stories about the the ridiculous things he got himself involved with.

Jace was talking about how he had apparently ‘defended Clary’s honour’ against a flirty waiter when he suddenly stood up. “I’m getting another coffee. Do you want one?”

Alec shook his head. While Jace was gone, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, if only for something to do.

The Tumblr app was still open on his phone. He didn’t usually use it in public but it was something to do while he waited for Jace.   
He refreshed it and scrolled down his dashboard. He reblogged a few things, not really paying much attention, and then he saw that his own selfie had been reblogged by someone he followed.

It always felt weird coming across his own pictures on his dashboard, but selfies were even weirder.

Out of curiosity, he scrolled through the tags. He didn’t know whether to be flattered or embarrassed, really.

_#holy shit  #sign me the FUCK up  #why didn’t i know u were the most attractive person ever  #pls marry me  #(also fuck me)  #(i’m joking)  #(but not really)_

He held back a laugh. He would be mortified if Jace came back and found him laughing and demanded to know what was funny.

He scrolled up a little bit to see who had written those tags and dropped his phone onto the table with a clatter.

He stared at it for a moment as if it would bite him, but then hesitantly picked it up again. Surely he had been imagining things.

But no. Magnus had reblogged his selfie and had asked Alec to fuck him in the tags.

Alec could feel himself going bright red. In his haste to scroll away, he accidentally double tapped the damn photo, liking it.

He could have kicked himself. Now Magnus would think he was some kind of weirdo who went and liked his own selfies when they got reblogged by other people.

In his panic, Alec hadn’t noticed Jace returning to the table. “Are you okay? You look like you saw a ghost,” he said as he sat down.

Alec shook his head, but hurriedly nodded. “I’m fine! I’m fine. Yeah. Sorry.”

Jace frowned. “Alec, is somebody bothering you?”

“What? No. Why would you think that?” Alec asked.

“Because you were looking at your phone like it was going to explode,” Jace explained, gesturing to Alec’s phone which was still cradled between his fingers.

Alec shoved it into his pocket. “I’m fine. I promise,” he assured him.

He managed to talk to Jace for another hour or so without arousing suspicion, and by the end of it, he had almost forgotten about the incident.

He was forcibly reminded of it when he got back to his apartment and opened his laptop, however.

He sometimes got a few asks in his inbox, but now he had a lot.

He frowned and clicked the little envelope item. Maybe that selfie had just been really popular and these would be weirdos asking him uncomfortable questions.

But no.

_Anonymous asked: ARE U DATING MAGNUS?????_

_Anonymous asked: r u gay_

_Anonymous asked: maLEC????????????????????_

_Anonymous asked: i love u_

_Anonymous asked: if u and magnus have sex can u film it and upload it here?? thx_

_Anonymous asked: WHO TOPS?????_

Alec didn’t know what to do or think. He clicked back to his dashboard, content to ignore the messages for now, but he noticed that the little chat bubble had a number four beside it.

He didn’t get many instant messages; he had altered it so that only mutuals could send him things.

He could have melted into his chair when he clicked on the icon and he saw who the message was from.

_baneofurlife: are u getting creepy messages??_

_baneofurlife: if so, i’m sorry, i think it’s my fault_

_baneofurlife: but i think u knew that. sorry for those tags_

_baneofurlife: malec is a good ship name though!_

Alec didn’t know what to do. He had sometimes imagined messaging Magnus, but he never thought Magnus would message him first. Or that they’d ever be in a situation like this.

He considered shutting the computer and considering what to say, but he knew that if he thought about it too much, he’d end up not replying and then Magnus would think he was rude and hate him forever.

So instead, before he could talk himself out of it, he started typing.

_alec-in-ny: the tags were good_

He paused after sending that. Why hadn’t he stopped himself? That was embarrassing. Magnus would probably think he was some kind of creep now.

_baneofurlife: thank god_

_baneofurlife: i was going to delete them because i felt creepy_

_baneofurlife: but i felt better when you liked it_

Alec took a long breath. Maybe liking it hadn’t been the worst mistake of his life.

_alec-in-ny: i am getting creepy messages btw_

_alec-in-ny: do your followers freak out whenever you reblog someone else’s selfie?_

_baneofurlife: no_

_baneofurlife: i don’t usually tag them so enthusiastically_

_baneofurlife: mostly because none of them are as attractive as you_

_baneofurlife: also i think because we live in the same city_

Alec felt like he needed to lie down for a few hours. How was he supposed to respond to that?

_alec-in-ny: haha_

He groaned. Surely he could do better than that.

_alec-in-ny: you’re beautiful_

He hadn’t really meant to send that. He pressed his hands to his face and let out a quiet scream. He was about to start typing again when he got another message.

_baneofurlife: my cat is upset with me because i just made a noise_

Alec peered at the screen through the gaps between his fingers. Maybe this was a very strange and vivid dream.

_baneofurlife: thank you, Alec :)_

_alec-in-ny: sorry i have to go_

He closed his laptop with a little more force than was strictly necessary. He had never done this before. He’d had a couple of boyfriends, but they hadn’t lasted long and they had never complimented him like Magnus, a stranger on the internet, did.

And he had never complimented them back so recklessly.

He didn’t know what to do, so resolved to avoid Tumblr like the plague at least until tomorrow.

* * *

 

When tomorrow rolled around, Alec found himself unable to open Tumblr. He knew he was overreacting, and even if he had messages from Magnus it would be easy to ignore them, but he didn’t _want_ to ignore them. And that was what was worrying him.

His previous boyfriends hadn’t been unattractive, per se, but Magnus was without a doubt one of the most attractive people Alec had ever seen.

Maybe that was why he’d been unable to stop himself sending him that message.

He kept trying to distract himself, but his thoughts kept going back to that stupid selfie and Magnus’ tags.

After lunch, he took the plunge and opened Tumblr again. He ignored the asks piling up in his inbox, but he had two new messages.

_baneofurlife: ok!_

_baneofurlife: feel free to message me whenever :)_

Alec sighed. All that stress and Magnus hadn’t even been offended by his sudden departure.

He automatically started scrolling his dashboard again. He reblogged a few photos of landscapes, and then abruptly stopped scrolling. Magnus had posted a photo of himself.

Two photos of himself, as a matter of fact. One was of his face and one was of his outfit.

He was wearing black jeans (and his legs looked ridiculously long), a navy and white striped shirt and a bright yellow raincoat.

It could be considered understated compared to some of his other outfits, but he still looked incredible. He reblogged it, hesitating for a moment before tagging it with the heart eyes emoji.

He shut his laptop, hoping to avoid any potential shitstorms by being offline until they died down.

He didn’t want to just sit in his apartment all afternoon feeling nervous, so he pulled a pair of shoes and a jacket on and grabbed his camera before heading outside.

He didn’t have a specific destination in mind, but he walked aimlessly, occasionally taking his camera out of his pocket to take photos of things.

When he was starting to feel like his hands might actually drop off from the cold, he headed into a Starbucks.

While he drank his coffee, he let himself get absorbed in scrolling through the photos on his camera, seeing if there were any that were worth posting. He deleted the blurry ones and made a mental note of the best ones before putting the camera away.

Something yellow caught his attention.

Someone standing in line was wearing a yellow jacket.

He was very tall and thin. Alec couldn’t tell much else about him apart from the fact that he had a nice butt.

Half of him wanted it to be Magnus. He’d see Alec and come over and they’d talk and fall in love and get married.

Or it would be Magnus and he wouldn’t see Alec, and Alec would just watch him leave and would spend the rest of the day (or his life, probably) wondering what would have happened if he had spoken to him.

Or it wasn’t Magnus, and it was some other tall and thin man in a yellow coat.

Alec watched him carefully, determined to see his face. As he moved forward in the queue, the only thing Alec could decipher was that he had nice cheekbones.

He leaned forward to try and hear what his voice was like when he got to the front of the queue. He had no idea what Magnus’ voice sounded like, but he was curious now.

The voice was lower than Alec had expected. It almost sent a shiver down his spine. He was so distracted by his voice that he didn’t even register the fact that he was ordering something complicated and sugary-sounding.

Alec didn’t know what any of it meant apart from ‘latte’ and ‘hazelnut syrup’, but the barista seemed to know what she was doing.

“And your name?” she asked after the man had ordered.

“Magnus,” he said, pulling his wallet out to pay for his coffee.

Alec’s heart felt like it was beating a million miles per hour in his chest. Either this was a huge coincidence and there was another Magnus in New York with a yellow coat and a similar body type, or Alec was sitting a few feet away from _the_ Magnus.

Magnus turned around to wait for his drink and Alec had a better view of his face. It was definitely _the_ Magnus.

And, oh god, he looked even better in person. If that was even possible. Even in the shitty cafe lighting he looked beautiful.

Alec didn’t know what to do. He felt weird just sitting and staring, but he didn’t know if he would have the confidence to actually approach Magnus and talk to him. Especially not after yesterday.

He pulled his camera out again and tried to look busy. He could pretend he hadn’t seen Magnus, then it would depend on whether Magnus saw him or not.

He scrolled through his photos again, but his eyes kept flicking up to Magnus.

And then Magnus got his coffee, and it was in a takeout cup, and it felt like everything was moving in slow motion.

Magnus left the Starbucks, and Alec had missed his chance.

That thought put a horrible feeling in his chest. He knew he’d regret it if he didn’t at least try, so he stood up and dashed out of the cafe.

They weren’t in the busiest part of the city, luckily, so it was easy to spot Magnus’ bright jacket.

Alec immediately broke into a run. He dodged around the people milling around the street, and managed to catch up to Magnus quickly.

“Magnus,” he called when he was still behind him. Part of him suddenly got incredibly worried that he had imagined the scene in Starbucks and that this wasn’t really Magnus.

But no, Magnus turned around and it was still his beautiful face and his eyes were wide with surprise. “Alec?” he asked. In his surprise he forgot about keeping his coffee cup level, and some coffee spilled onto Alec’s shirt.

“I’m so sorry,” Alec panted, ignoring the coffee on his shirt. It was old and the coffee wasn’t scalding. “I saw you…in Starbucks…was gonna talk, but…sorry.”

Magnus was staring between Alec’s shirt and his face. “You’re apologising to me after I just poured coffee all over you?”

Alec straightened up when the stitch in his side had faded. “It’s fine. It’s not bad.”

Magnus looked like he was going to protest, but then he stepped back slightly. “So, Alec. It’s nice to meet you. Sorry for making people ship us,” he said, smiling slightly and extending the hand that wasn’t holding his coffee towards him.

“You too. And it’s fine. I ship us too,” Alec assured him, shaking his hand quickly. Magnus didn’t let go of his hand, though, and he was smirking at Alec.

Alec had to think for a moment before he realised what he’d said. “Oh my god,” he breathed.

Magnus squeezed his hand before letting go. “Alec, it’s fine,” he assured him, putting a hand on his elbow to get him to start walking. “Trust me. I think you’re a real life angel and don’t think I didn’t see you tag me with the heart eyes emoji.”

Alec felt like he should be mortified but he kind of wasn't. Magnus seemed so calm about the whole thing.

Before he could think of what to say, Magnus spoke again. “Do you want to come to my apartment? It’s nearby and I feel bad about getting coffee all over you.”

Alec nodded. He was absolutely sure he was in a dream.

Conversation flowed naturally on the way to Magnus’ apartment, and Alec was surprised. He hadn’t thought he would be able to form a sentence properly in front of Magnus but here they were, walking and talking like they’d known each other for years.

When they got to the apartment, Alec suddenly felt like he’d gotten a little _too_ comfortable. Magnus had gone to get him another shirt to wear, and without thinking, Alec had just taken his own shirt off.

Now he was staring at it, bunched up in his hand, but before he could get it back on Magnus came out of his bedroom again and Alec was pretty sure he actually saw his pupils dilate.

Alec fiddled with the shirt in his hand and smiled nervously. “I can change in there if you want,” he offered, gesturing towards what he was sure was the bathroom door.

Magnus shook his head and approached him slowly, holding a shirt out for him to put on. But they held eye contact for a little too long as Magnus handed the shirt over, and when their hands brushed it was like a chemical reaction and suddenly they were kissing.

* * *

What Magnus called an ‘ambiguously post-sex selfie’ they took together got more notes than anything either of them had posted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i could have spent time filling a request, or doing something productive, but NO, you're getting >3000 words of pure self-indulgence
> 
> i keep telling myself not to mention the butt but the butt needs to be mentioned (alec won't stop looking at it)
> 
> thank you for reading, thank you for all your wonderful requests, i'll actually work on filling them as soon as possible!! And feel free to request more things, i don't know how long it will take me to write them but i sure as heck appreciate the ideas!!


	11. Lost Cat

Alec was glad to be home. 

Over the weekend, he, Jace and Isabelle had been at their parents’ house outside the city for their mother’s birthday. It was nice to spend some time with them, and it was nice to see Max, but he was more than ready to be at home again. 

He liked being with them, but now that he knew what living alone was like, being in their company for so long was sort of overwhelming. 

He let himself into his building, finally taking his hands out of the warmth of his pockets to check his mailbox. 

He flipped through the usual flyers and menus for nearby restaurants as he walked up the stairs. Nothing interesting. 

The last thing in the pile was a sheet of A4 picture with a photo of a cat and a lot of glitter on it. Some of the glitter had stuck to the back of the flyer that had been resting on top of it.

Alec flattened the paper out to read it.  _ ‘MISSING: CHAIRMAN MEOW. HE IS SMALL AND GREY. IF YOU FIND HIM AND BRING HIM BACK YOU WILL GET A REWARD.’  _

There was a phone number and an address in Brooklyn and, in tiny print, another message.  _ ‘Sometimes he is unfriendly. Don’t be offended if he hisses.’  _

Alec looked at the photo of the cat. It was probably some little girl who’d lost her pet and was desperate to find it.

He made a mental note to look out for the cat, but when he got into his apartment he dumped the mail on his coffee table.

* * *

 

On his way to work the next morning, the cat was brought back to the front of his mind. Posters for the missing cat were taped to trees and lampposts everywhere, and all of them were coated in glitter. 

Half of Alec was amused at the thought of a little girl probably making her parents go all around New York to put posters up about the cat, but half of him felt sorry for her. She probably just missed her pet. 

He didn’t think about it while he was at work. 

When he met Isabelle for lunch, she asked him about the posters.

“Did you have a cat poster in your mailbox?” she asked when they walked past another one of the posters stuck to a lamppost. 

Alec nodded. “Yeah. Did you?” 

“Yup. Some poor kid is probably freaking out,” she agreed. “What do you think the reward is for finding it?” 

“How would I know?” Alec asked, glancing at her. “I don’t know that area. Maybe it’s a fancy part of Brooklyn and the reward would be a thousand dollars or something.” 

Isabelle nudged his shoulder. “Come on, Alec. If it was that big, they’d put it on the poster. The reward is probably just the joy of finding someone’s cat.” 

Alec laughed. “That’s still good, though. I mean, they probably spent hundreds of dollars on printing all these photos and getting all this glitter, they won’t have money left for a reward.”

“True. But still. I’m curious,” Isabelle said. 

“Maybe you should try to find the cat so you can find out,” Alec suggested, grinning at her. 

“Maybe I will,” she said defensively, but she was grinning, too.

* * *

 

Isabelle’s curiosity about the cat reward had sort of piqued Alec’s interest. He was still more concerned about whether or not they actually found their cat or not, but it was kind of intriguing. 

Throughout the week, Alec managed to keep his mind off the cat for the most part. The glittery posters always caught his attention, but right now he was concentrating on the fact that he needed to get home quickly and have dinner or he would be late to meet Jace at the gym.

He got to his apartment and cooked dinner quickly – chicken and pasta – before going back out to meet Jace. 

When he got outside his building, though, he stopped in his tracks. 

Beside the door was a tiny, grey and very familiar cat. It was pawing at a leaf, occasionally rolling over and meowing. 

Alec could have ignored the cat and gone to the gym, but he knew he’d regret it. 

Now all he could think of was a little girl who probably missed her cat, and her parents who were probably desperate to find it to avoid heartbreak. 

He crouched down beside the cat, mindful of the fact that the poster had warned of hissing. 

He held his hand out towards the cat. It immediately abandoned the leaf and went to sniff Alec’s hand. After a few moments, it butted its face against Alec’s fist and Alec petted it gently. 

The cat seemed to enjoy that. When it started purring softly, Alec took a chance and picked it up. It squirmed and then settled in his arms.    
Alec pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time. There was no way in hell he would be able to get to Brooklyn and back to the gym in time to meet Jace. 

He let himself back into the building and into his apartment. He put the cat down, but then remembered that cats needed to pee sometimes. He didn’t have a cat, therefore didn’t have any cat litter. 

He groaned, watching the cat explore his apartment. He opened the door and dashed to the neighbour’s door. 

They definitely had a cat, so maybe they’d be able to lend him some cat litter. 

He knocked on the door. Usually he would have been too nervous to do something like this, but he wanted to look after the cat before he’d be able to get it back to its owner. 

Just as Alec was beginning to worry that they were out, the door opened. 

Alec was sure that the man was called Will. He was only slightly shorter than Alec, with curly black hair and dark blue eyes. 

“Do you need something?” he asked. Though the question was blunt, it wasn’t impolite. 

“Yes. Yeah. I was wondering if you had any spare cat litter,” Alec said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants. “You do have a cat, right?” he asked, suddenly worried that he’d got the wrong neighbours. 

Will rolled his eyes. “We don’t have a cat.” 

Alec felt like his stomach had dropped down to the ground. “Oh. Sorry, I thought–”

“We have a demon,” Will continued. “He’s a horrible creature.” 

Alec laughed nervously. “Oh. Okay. Well, do you have any spare demon litter I could have?” 

Before Will could respond, another man sidled up behind him. “Are you spreading rumours about my cat?” 

Will rolled his eyes. “You know fine well he’s evil.” 

“He’s nice to me,” the other man said placidly before turning to Alec. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Jem,” he said, extending a hand for Alec to shake. 

“I’m Alec,” Alec said as he shook his hand. “I was just…I’m looking after a friend’s cat and I don’t have cat litter. I’m dropping him off with his actual owner later tonight, but I don’t want him to pee all over my apartment,” he explained. 

“Will, would you mind getting the litter from the cupboard under the sink?” Jem asked, turning back to smile at Alec when Will had gone back into the apartment. “Sorry about him. He’s just bitter that the cat doesn’t like him.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Alec assured him, waving a hand. 

From inside the apartment, there was a crash and a loud hiss, and then what could best be described as a giant grey ball of fur ran straight to Jem. It jumped up and Jem easily caught it in his arms. 

Jem looked remarkably calm despite the fact that he had this giant, angry-looking cat in his arms. “This is Church,” he said, scratching the cat behind the ears.

Despite its angry face, the cat started purring, nuzzling its head against Jem’s jaw. 

“Hello Church,” Alec said automatically. Then he remembered that some people didn’t talk to animals as if they were humans. 

Jem didn’t comment, though. In fact, he rubbed his nose against the top of the cat’s head for a moment. “He doesn’t get along very well with Will. But we make it work.” 

Alec felt sort of nervous when Church looked at him, but he held his hand out for him to sniff. When the cat didn’t hiss or scratch at him or anything, he tentatively petted his head. 

“He likes you,” Jem said. He looked impressed. “Don’t tell Will. He’ll be jealous.” 

“Jealous of what?” Will asked, sneaking up behind Jem with a tray of litter. “Are you up to something?” he asked, then he saw Alec petting Church. “Why does he only hate me?” he protested, folding his arms across his chest as best he could while holding a litter tray.

Jem shrugged and held onto Church a little tighter so he wouldn’t either escape out the door or try to jump on Will. “He doesn’t. But you’re always horrible to him, so he hasn’t learned to like you.” 

Will looked like he was about to protest, but he held the litter tray out to Alec. “Here. Feel free to come and ask if you need any more cat advice. We seem to have the most demanding cat in the city.” 

Alec thanked him and took the litter tray. “Where are you from?” he asked, curiosity getting the better of him. 

“Wales,” Will said proudly. “Which is the country to the left of England.”

“I grew up in Shanghai but lived in England since I was eleven. And haven’t been able to get rid of him since,” Jem explained. 

Will grinned and draped his arm across Jem’s shoulders. Church yowled and jumped out of Jem’s arms, running back into the apartment. 

Alec suppressed a laugh and tipped the litter tray from side to side before remembering Jace. “Okay. I’m sorry but I really have to go, I have to meet my brother, but thank you for this.” 

Jem grinned at him and wiggled his fingers in a wave. “Don’t worry. But you should come over for tea. It’s always fun to make Will annoyed that the cat hates him.” 

Will pouted. “You just said he didn’t hate me.” 

“Don’t start. Alec needs to go. We’ll see you later,” Jem said, putting his hand on Will’s chest and smiling back at Alec. “Feel free to ask us if you need any more cat things.” 

They said their goodbyes and then Alec dashed back to his own apartment. He put the litter tray in the corner, hoping that the cat was toilet trained, and as an afterthought he put some leftover chicken from his dinner on a plate on the kitchen floor. The cat was probably hungry. 

He picked up the glittery poster from the coffee table and looked between the photo and the cat. It was almost definitely the same one. 

“Chairman Meow?” Alec tried. 

The cat looked up, trotting over to him. So he had the right cat. He reached down to scratch his ears, but then he really had to go to the gym.

* * *

 

He spent a couple of hours with Jace. They tried to go to the gym together at least once every two weeks, but it was usually a lot more than that. 

It was always nice to spend time with him, and exercising was always a good way to take his mind off things. 

But he was eager to get home to Chairman Meow. It was getting late, and if he was right about the cat belonging to a little girl she would probably be in bed by now, but it would be a nice surprise for the morning. 

And Alec didn’t have any more cat-appropriate food, so he wanted to get it back home. 

When he got to his apartment, he showered quickly so he didn’t smell like the gym, then pulled on jeans and a sweater. 

He didn’t have a cat carrier or anything. He considered going to ask Will and Jem if they had one, but thought he’d try the easy option first. He picked Chairman Meow up and held him carefully. 

The cat didn’t try to escape his hold or anything, so Alec figured he was safe. 

He typed the address on the poster into his phone and got directions. When he was sure he knew where he was going, he locked the door and carried the cat outside. 

Now that there were other people and new smells, Chairman Meow squirmed a little bit and kept trying to jump away, but Alec kept a firm hold of him. 

The subway was easier. Now that Alec was sitting down, he could focus all his energy on making sure the cat didn’t escape. People kept cooing at Chairman Meow when they saw him. Alec just smiled politely at them when this happened. He probably would have done the same; the cat was very cute. 

Alec got off the subway in Brooklyn. The area wasn’t what he had expected; it was all old buildings and quirky cafes. He’d expected big, fancy family homes, but he supposed a family could live in one of these places. 

Most of the buildings had buzzers for individual apartments outside the door, so Alec supposed that a family could live in in one of those. 

He reached the specified address. There were seven names outside the door, each with a number beside them. Alec looked up to number seven, which had a little name card with ‘Bane’ printed neatly beside it.

“This is where you live?” Alec asked the cat, hesitating for just a moment before pressing the buzzer. 

Alec petted the cat while he waited, and then a man’s voice came from the little speaker. 

“What do you want?” he asked. The speaker made his voice sound tinny and a little distorted, but he sounded annoyed. 

“I think I have your cat,” Alec said. Maybe that would improve his mood. 

The line was silent for a moment, but then the door unlocked. “Come up.” 

Alec pulled the door open and let himself into the building. As he climbed the rickety stairs, Chairman Meow wiggled out of his arms and ran ahead. Alec followed until he’d reached the top of the staircase, and a door marked with ‘7’. 

Chairman Meow was sitting beside the door, meowing plaintively. 

Alec knocked on the door. He only had to wait a moment before the door swung open. 

Alec had expected a man in his 40s and a family home, but instead he got a bizarrely decorated apartment and a man who looked around Alec’s age. 

For a moment, all he could do was stare. The man was tall – taller than Alec – and wearing black leggings and a vest, and his eyes were covered in smudged makeup. 

Luckily, Alec didn’t have to say anything. Almost immediately, the man bent down to pick his cat up, hugging him close and scratching behind his ears. “Thank you so much,” he said, grinning up at Alec. Something in his expression changed, but Alec couldn’t figure out what it was. “Do you want to come in?” 

The guy was a total stranger and everything, but Alec nodded. He kind of wanted to ask about the cat and whether this very young-looking (and ridiculously attractive) man had a child.

The door swung shut behind Alec and he had a chance to look around the apartment properly. The furniture was all mismatched, but it all came together in a sort of harmony. 

He was more interested in the owner of the apartment, though. 

“Where did you find him?” he asked, kissing Chairman Meow’s nose and setting him down on the sofa. 

“He was just outside my apartment building. I saw the posters. I know I probably should’ve called first, but…” he trailed off and shrugged.

“Thank you so much. I’ve missed my little baby,” the man cooed, reaching over to walk his fingers down the cat’s back. The cat basked in the attention, rolling onto his back to have his tummy scratched. 

“Is he just yours?” Alec asked, watching the cat. 

“Yep. He’s my little housemate. I’ve missed having him here,” he said. “I’m Magnus, by the way. And it’s a pleasure to meet you,” he added quickly, extending a hand to Alec. 

Alec felt a little dazed. He’d never been particularly charismatic, and any charisma that he might have had was completely lost around people as attractive as this. In fact, he was sure he’d never spoken to anyone this attractive before. 

“Alec,” he managed to say, shaking Magnus’ hand. He tried not to think about the way Magnus squeezed his hand before letting go. “Did you make the posters?” 

“I did,” Magnus said proudly. “I made them and bribed my friends into helping me put them up around the city. Did you like them?” 

Alec felt like he needed to sit down. Before now, he hadn’t thought someone could be so sexy and so cute at the same time. “Yeah! Yeah. They were good. Very eye-catching,” he agreed. “And there were a lot of them.” 

Magnus nodded and picked the cat up again, booping his nose gently. “I was very worried. And I needed to occupy myself while I didn’t have a cat to look after.” 

Alec could only nod. He felt like he was in a bizarre dream. 

Magnus suddenly perked up. “I said there would be a reward, didn’t I? Do you drink?” he asked, setting Chairman Meow down again and walking across the apartment. He beckoned for Alec to follow him. 

Alec trailed behind him and was led into the kitchen. “Yeah. Why?” 

“Would you like something to drink?” Magnus asked, gesturing to the bottles of spirits lined up on his kitchen counter. “I was going to give you food but tomorrow is shopping day. So if you want it, a drink?”

“A drink would be good,” Alec said. He wouldn’t drink much, but maybe it would help him not to feel so nervous around Magnus. 

Magnus smiled at him and leaned against the counter. Alec felt like he’d been hit by a car. He didn’t think people like Magnus existed outside of magazines. 

“What do you like? Are you a whisky man? You look like you might be a whisky man,” Magnus said, turning to look over the bottles. 

“I– uh, anything. Anything is fine,” Alec said. Then he realised that that was a ridiculous answer and would probably make Magnus think he was about fifteen. “Whisky is good.”

Magnus started making them both drinks, mixing them a few times before he looked satisfied and slid one over to Alec. “Please tell me if it’s disgusting. I’m not a professional.” 

Alec picked the glass up and took a tentative sip. It was strong, but surprisingly good. “It’s fine,” he told Magnus, smiling at him over his glass. 

Magnus’ smile grew. He picked up his own drink and walked back to the living room, touching Alec’s arm on his way past. Alec followed him, and ended up sitting on his sofa with Chairman Meow walking back and forth between them to get attention.

As it turned out, Magnus was funny and a little bit of a nerd and extremely flirty. And, yes, they’d only known each other for a couple of hours, but Alec would have been happy to stay talking to him all night. And that was unusual for Alec. 

People didn’t usually get his sense of humour, or they thought that he was being rude or uninterested when he was quiet. Magnus easily filled any silences with easy chatter, though, and he was laughing a lot. 

(This wasn’t helpful, though. Magnus was somehow even more beautiful when he laughed and it was a bit overwhelming sometimes). 

There weren’t as many silences between them as there were between Alec and other people, though. Conversations flowed naturally, and by the time Alec remembered to look at his phone it was just past midnight. 

“I should go,” he said reluctantly. He would’ve been happy to stay with Magnus all night, but Magnus was most likely just being polite because Alec had brought the cat back. 

Magnus shook his head and leaned a little closer. “It’s late, Alec. You’re more than welcome to sleep here if you want to.”

Alec considered it. It was Friday, and he didn’t have any commitments the next day. Before he could talk himself out of it, he was nodding. “As long as I’m not intruding or anything.”

Magnus grinned at him. “Would you like to sleep in my bed or on the sofa?” 

“In your bed?” Alec asked, flabbergasted. He couldn’t figure out if Magnus was joking or not. 

Magnus seemed to think that that was his answer, though. “That’s fine. Would you like me to change the sheets? And would you be more comfortable if I slept on the sofa?” 

Alec could only make sounds for a few moments. “I meant– you don’t have to do that, I can sleep on your sofa.” 

Magnus tipped his head to the side. “You’re more than welcome to the bed. I’ll even build a little wall of pillows between us if you like.”

Alec watched Magnus for a few moments, considering it. He could sleep on the sofa all night and be uncomfortable and have a crick in his neck all weekend, or he could share the bed with Magnus. 

Maybe it was the alcohol, but he nodded. “Fine. Bed is fine,” he said. “And you don’t have to do a wall of pillows.” 

Magnus looked thrilled. Soon Magnus had changed into black silk pyjamas, Alec had borrowed a pair of sweatpants, and they were lying facing each other in Magnus’ bed. 

“Thanks for letting me stay,” Alec whispered. He moved his hand with the intention of going to run it through his hair, but it hit Magnus’ hand under the blankets. 

Magnus looked a little surprised, but he flipped his hand over and linked their fingers together. “It’s no problem. If I made you go home at this time I would’ve just worried about you.” 

Alec laughed softly. He felt like he should be freaking out about the hand holding and the fact that Magnus would have been worried, but he felt strangely calm about the whole thing. “I can look after myself, you don’t need to worry.” 

Magnus smirked. “Okay. Get out. Get the subway home right now if you can look after yourself.” 

Alec laughed and squeezed his fingers. “No way.” 

“By the way, I apologise in advance if I use you as a pillow during the night. I’ve been told that I tend to cling,” Magnus said sheepishly. 

Alec ignored the little thrill of excitement that went through him. “It’s okay. That can be my repayment for letting me stay over.” 

Magnus hummed. He looked like he was thinking for a moment, then he looked back to Alec’s eyes. “I never gave you your reward for finding Chairman.” 

Alec blinked. “What?” 

Magnus leaned forward and kissed him gently. Alec could have easily pulled away if he wanted to, but he definitely didn’t want to. 

He could have kissed Magnus forever, but all too soon he was pulling away, his cheeks slightly flushed. 

“That was a good reward,” Alec said after a moment. 

Magnus looked relieved. “I’ll give you my number as well if you want.” 

Alec could hardly believe his luck. He nodded and leaned forward to kiss Magnus again, making a mental note to thank the cat later. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (sorry for any mistakes in the timeline or anything, i changed a couple of things when i was nearly finished writing it!)
> 
> I saw a lost cat notice today and it got me thinking about how much magnus would freak out if chairman got seriously lost, and how of course alec would be the kind of person to bring the cat across new york without a cat carrier just to get him back to his owner
> 
> and fate just brings them together!! 
> 
> (also, a little heronstairs cameo because along with magnus and alec, will and jem are two of my favourite characters to ever exist and i'm weak)
> 
> I hope you enjoy this, thank you for reading, and thank you for your comments!! Feel free to request anything, I'll do my best to fill it!! (speaking of requests, I will start filling them again soon!! ;) )


	12. Hospital!AU

Magnus tipped his head back against the waiting room wall.

It made a dull thud. 

He could feel Isabelle’s eyes boring into the side of his head, but he ignored them, closing his own eyes and trying to make himself relax. 

Of course, that was near impossible in the middle of a busy hospital waiting room.

It felt like Alec had been in surgery for hours. A glance at the clock told him it had been just over an hour, but time was dragging.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Magnus knew it was stupid to worry. It was just appendicitis, the doctor had reassured him multiple times that it was a simple procedure and Alec would be back on his feet within days.

That didn’t mean Magnus hadn’t been completely terrified when his new husband had practically collapsed in the kitchen when they were doing the dishes.

Magnus had panicked and tried calling Catarina, but she didn’t answer, so he did the next best thing and managed to get Alec to the hospital. 

It didn’t take long for the doctor to diagnose him, and soon Magnus was relegated to sit in the waiting room while they operated.

Magnus supposed it could have been worse. Isabelle had shown up after about fifteen minutes, and Catarina dropped by as often as she could to reassure Magnus that Alec was going to be okay.

He still felt bad, though. Alec had been complaining of a sore stomach earlier in the day and he hadn’t eaten anything at dinner; Magnus should have noticed that something was wrong.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by a hand on his cheek.

“You’re doing that face again,” Catarina told him sternly. She was leaning over him, and she moved her hand to brush his hair away from his face.

“What face?” Magnus asked, sitting up straighter and frowning up at her. He loved Catarina dearly – she was like a big sister to him – but she often made assumptions about how he was feeling.

Catarina raised her eyebrows. “The face you make when you’re blaming yourself for something that isn’t your fault.”

Okay, so maybe her assumptions were sometimes correct.

Magnus chose not to answer her, staring instead at his black nail polish. It was very chipped. 

Catarina sighed and sat in the vacant seat beside Magnus.

“Where did Izzy go?” he asked, lifting his head.

“To get coffee for both of you,” Catarina told him. “I bumped into her in the lobby. She said she was worried about you.”

Magnus fought down a wave of irritation. Alec was the one in hospital right now, they should be focussing on him.

“I’m fine. Nobody needs to worry about me,” he said firmly.

Catarina shrugged and tucked her arm around him. “The only time you say that kind of thing is when you’re not fine, sweetie.”

Part of Magnus wanted to resist her hug, but he deflated and rested his head against hers.

“It was just…” he paused for a moment. “He’s my husband. It finally feels like I actually might belong somewhere, and for a second I thought I might lose him.”

Catarina squeezed him tight and turned to kiss his cheek. “I know. He’s okay, though, so don’t be upset,” she said gently. 

Magnus’ mind was a rebellious thing, and he was usually grateful for this, but it also meant that anyone telling him ‘don’t be upset’ or any variation of those words was a surefire way to make him upset.

He took a deep breath, hoping that Catarina would ignore how shaky it was.

Before they had a chance to talk further, Isabelle returned with the coffee. 

She either didn’t notice the wetness around Magnus’ eyes or she was too nice to mention it. 

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, then Catarina sat up. “I’ve got to get back to work,” she sighed, pressing a kiss to Magnus’ forehead. “Love you. Call me if you need anything, okay?” 

She waited for him to nod before kissing his forehead again and giving Isabelle a hug around the shoulders.

“I’ll do what I can to find out how Alec is doing,” she said before making her way through the waiting room, soon disappearing into the throng of people.

Isabelle shifted to lean against Magnus. “Catarina’s so lovely. She makes everyone else look bad,” she sighed.

Magnus gave a short laugh. “I know. I adore her but I don’t know why she puts up with me.”

Isabelle nudged him in the ribs. “Don’t say that, Magnus. You’re lovely.”

“I might be lovely now,” Magnus agreed carefully, nudging her gently back, “but I was horrible when I first moved here. I yelled at her one day because she asked if I had family back home.”

“I’m sure you had your reasons,” Isabelle said carefully. 

Magnus felt a pang of guilt. He loved Izzy, too, and she really was his sister (in-law, anyway), but she didn’t know about his childhood. 

Alec often told him that he was under no obligation to tell anyone about it. 

Magnus knew that was true.

He had only told Catarina because he had been in a bad mood one day. It had been one of those days where everything went wrong: he hadn’t brought an umbrella, it had rained; he emailed something to his boss, attached the wrong document; he tried to cross the street, almost got run over by a taxi.

Basically everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong, and to top it off, when he got back to his apartment, he realised he had forgotten his keys. He had pulled his phone out to call a locksmith and it had been out of battery. 

Just when he was about to give up hope on anything good happening to him ever again, Catarina had emerged from the stairwell. 

She was his next-door neighbour, and they hadn’t talked much, but Catarina was always there with a friendly smile despite Magnus’ decidedly prickly attitude at times. 

Even so, he tried to be friendly to her as much as possible. She was nice, after all, and often offered him food.

“Hello,” she said cheerfully, stepping past Magnus to get to her own door. When she noticed that he was just standing there, dead phone in hand, she tipped her head to the side. “Are you okay?”

Magnus had burst into tears.

Catarina had looked startled for a moment but she had quickly taken Magnus into her own apartment and given him tea and chocolates while he babbled about his life and the fact that he’d been in New York less than a month and everything was going wrong and maybe his stepfather was right and he was a waste of space.

Somehow, Catarina had understood what he’d said despite the fact that he was still crying and his english hadn’t been as good then as it was now.

She had wasted no time in wrapping him in a tight hug and telling him that he mattered and was important. 

This had just made Magnus cry more. It was the first affectionate touch he’d known in years, and he wasn’t even sure why Catarina was being so nice to him, but he had clung to her and they had been best friends ever since.

“Magnus?” Isabelle said, taking his hand and squeezing gently.

“What? Sorry. I was thinking too hard. Did you say something?” Magnus asked, forcing himself to smile at her.

Isabelle shrugged. “Just wanted to make sure you were okay,” she said. She squeezed his fingers. “Drink your coffee before it gets cold. I know it’s shitty but I spent two dollars on it.”

Magnus laughed and took a sip of the coffee. It was indeed shitty, but the fact that Isabelle had been worried and bought it for him made it taste a little sweeter.

“Thank you,” he said. At least the cup was something warm to hold onto and concentrate on. “I’ll give you the money for it.”

Isabelle rolled her eyes fondly and linked arms with him. “Don’t be silly. You’ve looked exhausted since I got here, the least I can do is buy you a coffee.”

Magnus felt a rush of affection for his sister-in-law. He’d loved her since they met (even if he was sort of intimidated by her), but that didn’t mean she couldn’t still surprise him with nice gestures like this. 

They lapsed into silence again until a doctor approached them. 

“You’re Alec Lightwood-Bane’s family, yes?” she asked. 

Magnus sat up straight and Isabelle tightened her grip on his arm. “Is he okay?” Magnus asked.

The doctor nodded. “He’s just waking up if you want to come and see him,” she agreed. “As long as both of you are related to him,” she added, glancing at Magnus.

Magnus nearly panicked, but then remembered that they were in fact married. (It had only been three months and he sometimes forgot that it had actually happened). “I’m his husband,” he told her.

The doctor nodded quickly and turned on her heel to lead them through the hospital.

“How was the surgery?” Magnus asked, running a hand through his hair. He was just remembering that he probably looked like a mess and probably should have made himself look decent before seeing Alec.

“It went well. Alec should be back on his feet in a day or two,” the doctor assured him. 

Isabelle smiled up at Magnus. “Told you it was nothing to worry about.”

They followed the doctor through the hospital until she stopped and put her hand on a door. “He might be a little loopy from the anaesthetic,” she warned them.

Magnus nodded. He had been given morphine when he broke his wrist a couple of years before and had apparently tried to take his clothes off no less than twenty three times while they were in the doctor’s office. Catarina had paid for a taxi home instead of trying to get Magnus on the subway when he was acting like that.

The doctor opened the door to Alec’s room. She led Magnus and Isabelle past a few other beds and then pulled the curtains aside, and there was Alec.

If Magnus ignored the sounds and surroundings, he could easily pretend Alec was sleeping. 

“I have to go and take care of another patient, but talk to one of the nurses if you need anything,” she said, touching Magnus’ shoulder lightly before disappearing through the curtains.

Magnus leaned against the side of Alec’s bed and gently brushed his hair away from his forehead. He certainly looked more peaceful now than he had earlier.

When Magnus touched him, Alec opened his eyes.

“How are you feeling?” Magnus asked softly, dropping his hand to Alec’s shoulder.

“Fine,” Alec mumbled. He cast his eyes around the room before looking back up at Magnus. He looked very groggy. “Who are you?”

Magnus fought down the initial panic at the strangeness of his own husband not knowing who he was. “Magnus,” he said. 

Alec kept staring at him. He had shifted and now Magnus could see chest hair poking above the neckline of his hospital gown. He wanted to kiss him, but that would most likely freak Alec out in his current state.

“Are you my doctor?” Alec asked, his words slurring together just slightly.

Magnus forced himself not to laugh. He’d feel terrible if he laughed at his poor, confused husband. “I’m not your doctor.”

Alec frowned and tried to look past Magnus, but all he could see behind him was the curtain. He looked back up at Magnus’ face instead. “You’re beautiful.”

Magnus could feel his face heating up. He knew Alec thought he was beautiful, but he didn’t usually announce it like that. He was more of a show-not-tell man. 

After a few moments, Alec spoke again. “Are you sure you’re not my doctor?”

It took Magnus a second to regain his composure, but he shook his head. “Not your doctor. No.” He glanced at Isabelle. She was standing at the foot of the bed, clearly trying not to laugh. 

“That’s sad. You’re so handsome,” Alec said, reaching his hand up towards Magnus’ face. “Doctor Handsome.”

Magnus automatically took his hand. “Do you want to know who I am?”

Alec looked startled when Magnus took his hand, but nodded eagerly (as eagerly as a person could nod in Alec’s current situation).

“I’m your husband,” Magnus said, squeezing Alec’s fingers gently.

Alec’s eyes grew almost comically wide. “You’re my…” he stared at their joined hands. “We’re married?”

“We’re married,” Magnus agreed. 

“Oh my god,” Alec whispered. Magnus was about to be concerned when Alec looked up at his face again. “How did I get you to marry me?” 

Magnus sat carefully on the edge of Alec’s bed. “What do you mean?”

“You’re so beautiful,” Alec said, linking his fingers together with Magnus. “And you married me?”

“Alexander,” Magnus sighed, leaning over to kiss his forehead. “You’re the most beautiful person in the world. And even if you weren’t, you’re so sweet and funny.”

Alec looked like all his birthdays had come at once. He was grinning widely at Magnus, his eyes scrunching up at the corners. “Really?”

Magnus nodded. “Really.”

“Oh my god,” Alec breathed, staring at Magnus. “Are you a model?” 

“I’m not a model,” Magnus laughed, reaching up to push Alec’s hair away from his face again. He let his hand linger on his cheek this time, though, Alec’s faint stubble scratching against his palm. 

“You should be a model,” Alec said firmly. His smile then dropped. “Oh my god.”

Magnus frowned and brushed his thumb against Alec’s cheek. “What’s the matter?”

Alec leaned closer to him. “Have we kissed?”

This time, Magnus couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “Yes, we’ve kissed,” he told him.

“Have we ever…” Alec trailed off and leaned even closer to Magnus. “Have we ever had sex?” he whispered.

He clearly hadn’t been quiet enough. Izzy started laughing. 

Alec didn’t look away from Magnus, though, so Magnus nodded. “We’ve had sex,” he agreed. With Alec so close, he couldn’t resist closing the distance between them and pecking his lips gently. 

“Is this real or are you a nice dream?” Alec asked, reaching up to touch Magnus’ face. He wasn’t as coordinated as usual, but he managed to press his hand to Magnus’ face for a few seconds.

“It’s real. I promise,” Magnus murmured. “You’ll remember everything later.”

Alec nodded and dropped his hand from Magnus’ face. “Will you stay here?” he asked.

Magnus nodded and leaned down to kiss Alec’s forehead. “I will. I promise.”

Alec only had time to give him one last smile before he was asleep again. 

Magnus took Alec’s hand again, brushing his thumb against his knuckles, when he heard a noise from the foot of the bed.

“Oh god. I almost forgot you were here,” he said, moving to stand up. “You should have shoved me out of the way to talk to him.”

Isabelle put her hands on Magnus’ shoulders to make him stay sitting down. “Don’t worry about it. I had fun watching you two,” she said. She was doing the smile that meant she was up to something.

“Are you going to tell everyone about that?” Magnus asked, glancing down at his sleeping husband.

“Of course I am,” Izzy agreed. “You just relax, though. Alec will be upset if he wakes up and you’re not there,” she teased.

Magnus was more than willing to follow her advice.

* * *

 

When Alec woke up, it took him a moment to remember where he was. 

He groaned and sat up, stilling when he realised that Magnus had fallen asleep laying beside him. 

He could remember was feeling very sick all day. Magnus had been concerned, but Alec had insisted that it was probably just some kind of stomach bug.

But it hadn’t been a stomach bug, and the last thing Alec could remember before the hospital was Magnus freaking out and phoning Catarina and Isabelle. 

He rested his head against his husband’s. He could have easily gone back to sleep – he still felt sort of groggy and the room was mostly dark and he wasn’t sure what time it was. He didn't know if he had his phone with him, so he gently moved his hand until he could feel Magnus' butt.

As he had suspected, Magnus' phone was in his back pocket. Alec carefully fished it out and lit up the screen to check the time, but was distracted by the long list of notifications.

They were all from Facebook. Alec scrolled through them. People were commenting on something Magnus had been tagged in. 

Out of curiosity, Alec unlocked the phone and clicked through to find what it was.

He froze when he saw Isabelle's post.

_ Isabelle Lightwood _

_ My brother just woke up from surgery and forgot who his husband was!  _

Alec frowned and scrolled down to press play on the video.

He watched most of it through the gaps in his fingers. He had no recollection of that whatsoever. It was like he was a different person.

He hastened to stop it when the video automatically replayed itself, but this time he noticed Magnus’ reactions as well as his own ridiculous and embarrassing ones.

Magnus looked like he was blushing, and they were grinning at each other like idiots.

Alec supposed it was kind of cute, really. 

Before he could put the phone somewhere safe, Magnus shifted against him.

“You’re awake?” Magnus mumbled, draping an arm across Alec. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” Alec said, craning his neck to kiss Magnus’ lips. “Did you see that video Izzy put on Facebook?” 

“What video?” Magnus asked.

Alec handed the phone over. 

Magnus watched the video. When it was over, he looked up at Alec, his nose scrunched up.

“What’s wrong?” Alec asked, resting their foreheads together.

“It’s a cute video but you must have been really delusional,” Magnus said, sliding his phone back into his pocket and wrapping his arm around Alec again.

Alec frowned and nudged their noses together. “What do you mean?”

“I look like shit,” Magnus said simply.

Alec couldn’t help but laugh. When he stopped laughing, though, he rested his hand on top of Magnus’. “You don’t–”

“Don’t say I don’t look like shit,” Magnus interrupted. “I look like shit now and I looked like shit in that video.”

“I was going to say you never look like shit,” Alec said once he’d finished. “Trust me. I was high on painkillers and saying whatever came into my head and I still thought you were beautiful.”

When he realised what he’d said he felt his cheeks heat up, but the kiss Magnus gave him made it all worth it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i haven't updated anything in a while, it's been a really shitty week!
> 
> but here you go, this is something at least, i want to write magnus and catarina's first meeting properly (and ragnor's of course) but that should wait until next week!
> 
> i'll try to update the other things which I'm sure you're all more interested in as soon as possible, but in the meantime, thank you for reading and thank you for your lovely comments!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!


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